CVE-2019-5645
Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP Handler Denial of Service
By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.
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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP Handler Denial of Service
By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.
- Record
CVE-2019-5645- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-15220
By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.
- Record
EUVD-2019-15220- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-wp3v-g466-8g44
Regular expression denial of service in Rapid7 Metasploit
By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.
- Record
GHSA-wp3v-g466-8g44- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.
- Record
CVE-2019-5645- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-400
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit | Metasploit HTTP(S) handler DoS | 2019-09-04 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-5645 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Rapid7 Metasploit, published September 1, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 49.2%, the 98th percentile. No source names a fixed version.