# CVE-2019-6538: Medtronic Conexus Radio Frequency Telemetry Protocol Improper Access Control

> Attackers with short-range radio access can intercept, modify, or inject data into Medtronic implanted cardiac devices due to lack of authentication in the telemetry protocol.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 22 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-56wm-53rq-h4x6

## What is CVE-2019-6538?

CVE-2019-6538 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Medtronic Amplia CRT-D, published on 25 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Conexus telemetry protocol utilized within Medtronic MyCareLink Monitor versions 24950 and 24952, CareLink Monitor version 2490C, CareLink 2090 Programmer, Amplia CRT-D, Claria CRT-D, Compia CRT-D, Concerto CRT-D, Concerto II CRT-D, Consulta CRT-D, Evera ICD, Maximo II CRT-D and ICD, Mirro ICD, Nayamed ND ICD, Primo ICD, Protecta ICD and CRT-D, Secura ICD, Virtuoso ICD, Virtuoso II ICD, Visia AF ICD, and Viva CRT-D does not implement authentication or authorization. An attacker with adjacent short-range access to an affected product, in situations where the product’s radio is turned on, can inject, replay, modify, and/or intercept data within the telemetry communication. This communication protocol provides the ability to read and write memory values to affected implanted cardiac devices; therefore, an attacker could exploit this communication protocol to change memory in the implanted cardiac device.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality), CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-6538?

It affects 20 products.


Products: Medtronic Amplia Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Carelink 2090 Firmware, Medtronic Carelink Monitor Firmware, Medtronic Claria Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Compia Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Concerto Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Concerto Ii Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Consulta Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Evera Icd Firmware, Medtronic Maximo Ii Crt-D and Lcd Firmware, Medtronic Mirro Icd Firmware, Medtronic Mycarelink Monitor Firmware, Medtronic Nayamed Nd Icd Firmware, Medtronic Primo Icd Firmware, Medtronic Protecta Icd and Crt-D Firmware, Medtronic Secura Icd Firmware, Medtronic Virtuoso Icd Firmware, Medtronic Virtuoso Ii Icd Firmware, Medtronic Visia Af Icd Firmware, Medtronic Viva Crt-D Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-6538?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-6538 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-6538 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-6538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Medtronic Amplia CRT-D

- [CVE-2019-6540](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6540/): Medtronic Conexus Radio Frequency Telemetry Protocol Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information (medium 6.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-6538 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-6538 is a critical missing authorization vulnerability in Medtronic Amplia CRT-D, published on 25 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-6538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Medtronic Amplia CRT-D. 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-2019-6538/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6538/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-6538
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-6538
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-6538

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6538/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.