# CVE-2019-6445: Null dereference in n/a

> An authenticated attacker can crash the NTPsec time server by triggering a NULL pointer dereference in the control interface.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2019-6445, GHSA-48cf-q482-5pp4, UBUNTU-CVE-2019-6445

## What is CVE-2019-6445?

CVE-2019-6445 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in NTPsec before 1.1.3. An authenticated attacker can cause a NULL pointer dereference and ntpd crash in ntp_control.c, related to ctl_getitem.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-6445?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ntpsec Ntpsec.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-6445?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2019-6445 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2019-6445 exists.

Public exploit code:

- NTPsec 1.1.2 - 'ntp_control' (Authenticated) NULL Pointer Dereference (PoC) (exploitdb)
- NTPsec 1.1.2 - 'ntp_control' (Authenticated) NULL Pointer Dereference (PoC) (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2019-6443](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6443/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2019-6444](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6444/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2023-4012](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-4012/): Incomplete Internal State Distinction in ntpsec (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2019-6442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6442/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-6445 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-6445 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 16 Jan 2019. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2019-6445 exists.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2019-6445/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6445/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-6445
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-6445
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-6445

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6445/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.