# CVE-2019-5737: Denial of service in Node.js

> Attackers can cause Denial of Service in Node.js by sending slow HTTP headers in keep-alive connections, exhausting server resources.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 28 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2019-5737, CLEANSTART-2026-UB54209, CLEANSTART-2026-VK28646, DEBIAN-CVE-2019-5737, GHSA-24mv-c2pp-2q4f, SUSE-SU-2019:0627-1, SUSE-SU-2019:0635-1, SUSE-SU-2019:0636-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-5737

## What is CVE-2019-5737?

CVE-2019-5737 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Nodejs Node.js, published on 28 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In Node.js including 6.x before 6.17.0, 8.x before 8.15.1, 10.x before 10.15.2, and 11.x before 11.10.1, an attacker can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by establishing an HTTP or HTTPS connection in keep-alive mode and by sending headers very slowly. This keeps the connection and associated resources alive for a long period of time. Potential attacks are mitigated by the use of a load balancer or other proxy layer. This vulnerability is an extension of CVE-2018-12121, addressed in November and impacts all active Node.js release lines including 6.x before 6.17.0, 8.x before 8.15.1, 10.x before 10.15.2, and 11.x before 11.10.1.

Weakness: CWE-770 (Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling), CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-5737?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `nodejs10` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 12 | All versions | 10.15.2-1.6.1 |
| `nodejs10` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 15 | All versions | 10.15.2-1.6.1 |
| `nodejs8` | SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Web and Scripting 15 | All versions | 8.15.1-3.14.1 |

Products: Nodejs Node.js, Opensuse Leap.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-5737?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-5737 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5737 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- https://github.com/beelzebruh/cve-2019-5737 (github_poc): https://github.com/beelzebruh/cve-2019-5737

## Other vulnerabilities in Nodejs Node.js

- [CVE-2023-32002](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32002/): Security feature bypass in Node (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-6303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-6303/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-15896](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15896/): Security feature bypass in Node.js (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2018-7160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-7160/): Server-side request forgery in Node.js (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2018-12120](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12120/): Misconfiguration in Node.js (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-5737 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-5737 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Nodejs Node.js, published on 28 Mar 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-5737 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nodejs Node.js. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5737/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5737/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-5737
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-5737
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-5737

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5737/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.