CVE-2019-19905
NetHack before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines...
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
9.8
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
CVE-2019-19905- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
CVE-2019-19905- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-9497 No score
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
EUVD-2019-9497- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fqgf-vjr9-95rf
9.8
NetHack before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines...
NetHack before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
GHSA-fqgf-vjr9-95rf- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2019-19905
9.8
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2019-19905- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
9.8
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
CVE-2019-19905- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2019-19905
9.8
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2019-19905- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2019-19905
9.8
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2019-19905- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2021-0077 No score
Updated nethack packages fix security vulnerabilities
Updated nethack packages fix security vulnerabilities:
NetHack 3.6.x before 3.6.4 is prone to a buffer overflow vulnerability when reading very long lines from configuration files. This affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid, and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files (CVE-2019-19905).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, unknown options starting with -de and -i can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to influence command line options (CVE-2020-5209).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, an invalid argument to the -w command line option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to influence command line options (CVE-2020-5210).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, an invalid extended command in value for the AUTOCOMPLETE configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files (CVE-2020-5211).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, an extremely long value for the MENUCOLOR configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files (CVE-2020-5212).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, too long of a value for the SYMBOL configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files (CVE-2020-5213).
In NetHack before 3.6.5, detecting an unknown configuration file option can cause a buffer overflow resulting in a crash or remote code execution/privilege escalation. This vulnerability affects systems that have NetHack installed suid/sgid and shared systems that allow users to upload their own configuration files (CVE-2020-5214).
In NetHack before 3.6.6, some out-of-bound values for the hilite_status option can be exploited (CVE-2020-5254).
The nethack package has been updated to version 3.6.6, fixing these issues and other bugs. See the upstream release notes for details.
- Record
MGASA-2021-0077- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nethackAlpine:v3.11 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.12 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.13 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.14 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.15 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.16 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.17 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.18 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.19 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.20 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
Show 10 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nethackAlpine:v3.21 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.22 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.23 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackAlpine:v3.24 |
3.6.0 up to 3.6.4-r0 | 3.6.4-r0 |
nethackDebian:12 |
before 3.6.6-1 | 3.6.6-1 |
nethackDebian:13 |
before 3.6.6-1 | 3.6.6-1 |
nethackDebian:14 |
before 3.6.6-1 | 3.6.6-1 |
nethackMageia:7 |
before 3.6.6-1.mga7 | 3.6.6-1.mga7 |
nethackUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.0-4 |
None known |
nethackUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.6.1-1 |
None known |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| PoC in GitHub | dpmdpm2/CVE-2019-19905 | 2020-03-07 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV, PoC in GitHub |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-19905 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Nethack, published December 19, 2019. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 3.38%, the 88th percentile. Fixed in nethack 3.6.4-r0.
References
bugs.debian.org/947005
github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/f4a840a48f4bcf11757b3d859e9d53cc9d5ef226
github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/f001de79542b8c38b1f8e6d7eaefbbd28ab94b47
github.com/NetHack/NetHack/security/advisories/GHSA-3cm7-rgh5-9pq5
nethack.org/security
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-19905
Show 20 moreShow less
github.com/advisories/GHSA-fqgf-vjr9-95rf
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-19905
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-19905
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2021-0077.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=26228
nethack.org/v362/release.html
nethack.org/v363/release.html
nethack.org/v364/release.html
nethack.org/v365/release.html
nethack.org/v366/release.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2019-19905.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5209.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5210.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5211.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5212.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5213.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5214.html
nethack.org/security/CVE-2020-5254.html
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-19905
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-19905