Cyber Resilience

CVE-2019-5096

Memory Safety in Embedthis Goahead 3.6.5 … 5.0.1

Public PoCHigh EPSSMemory Safety
Published
03 December 2019
Modified
21 November 2024
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 0.67 99.2th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2019-5096 is a critical-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Embedthis Goahead. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

An exploitable code execution vulnerability exists in the processing of multi-part/form-data requests within the base GoAhead web server application in versions v5.0.1, v.4.1.1 and v3.6.5. A specially crafted HTTP request can lead to a use-after-free condition during the processing of…

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this request that can be used to corrupt heap structures that could lead to full code execution. The request can be unauthenticated in the form of GET or POST requests, and does not require the requested resource to exist on the server.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Unauthenticated specially crafted HTTP request to the GoAhead web server directly enables remote code execution via a use-after-free vulnerability.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-1916Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-1884Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-56554Shared CWE-416
CVE-2026-9114Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-35693Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-42104Shared CWE-416
CVE-2021-21206Shared CWE-416
CVE-2024-47415Shared CWE-416
CVE-2023-26589Shared CWE-416
CVE-2025-47986Shared CWE-416

Affected Assets

embedthis
goahead
3.6.5, 4.1.1, 5.0.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

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.

addresses: CWE-416

Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.

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
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

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.

detects

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

References