Security Resilience

CVE-2019-10149

RCE in Canonical Ubuntu Linux 18.04 … 18.10

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
05 June 2019
Modified
06 November 2025
KEV Added
10 January 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2019-10149 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Canonical Ubuntu Linux. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

A flaw was found in Exim versions 4.87 to 4.91 inclusive involving improper validation of recipient addresses in the deliver_message function within src/deliver.c. This issue, tracked as CWE-78, can result in remote command execution and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 reflecting network-accessible attack vectors with no required privileges or user interaction.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a crafted recipient address to trigger command execution on the affected mail server, potentially leading to full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Public references include OpenSUSE security announcements along with multiple Packet Storm and Full Disclosure postings that document proof-of-concept exploits for both remote command execution and subsequent local privilege escalation against the vulnerable versions.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A flaw was found in Exim versions 4.87 to 4.91 (inclusive). Improper validation of recipient address in deliver_message() function in /src/deliver.c may lead to remote command execution.

CWE(s)
CWE-78
KEV Date Added
10 January 2022

Related Threats

Threat-Actor AttributionAI

Microsoft Corp. (Salesforce / Slack engineer recruitment claims)
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
Dragonfly (G0035)
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
AnonOps
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
TeamSpy Crew
Russian State-Sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat Actor Compromises U.S. Government Targets | CISA
CrowdStrike (McAfee / Symantec civil claims)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
APT28 (G0007)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
APT29 (G0016)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA
Sandworm Team (G0034)
Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure | CISA

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-7247Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2020-16846Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2014-7169Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2014-6271Same product: Canonical Ubuntu Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2025-54948Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2019-15107Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2025-11953Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2023-28771Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2017-6884Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2026-73570Shared CWE-78both on KEV

Affected Assets

exim
exim
4.87 — 4.91
canonical
ubuntu linux
18.04, 18.10
debian
debian linux
9.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References