# CVE-2019-9166: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to root by exploiting write access to specific configuration files in Nagios XI.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9r68-mh3v-mmqj

## What is CVE-2019-9166?

CVE-2019-9166 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 28 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Privilege escalation in Nagios XI before 5.5.11 allows local attackers to elevate privileges to root via write access to config.inc.php and import_xiconfig.php.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-9166?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nagios Nagios Xi.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-9166?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-9166 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-9166 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9166 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nagios Nagios Xi

- [CVE-2021-25296](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25296/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25297/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25298/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-15949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15949/): Nagios XI Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-24401](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-24401/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-9166 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-9166 is a high-severity vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 28 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-2019-9166 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nagios Nagios Xi. 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-2019-9166/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9166/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9166
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9166
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-9166

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9166/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.