CVE-2019-18217
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service...
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
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
NVD Score used
7.5
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
CVE-2019-18217- 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-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
CVE-2019-18217- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2019-8017 No score
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
EUVD-2019-8017- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-5446-jrwr-x7c6
7.5
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service...
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
GHSA-5446-jrwr-x7c6- 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-835
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
CVE-2019-18217- 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
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2019-18217
7.5
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2019-18217- 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
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2019-18217
7.5
ProFTPD before 1.3.6b and 1.3.7rc before 1.3.7rc2 allows remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands because main.c in a child process enters an infinite loop.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2019-18217- 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
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2020:0031-1 No score
Security update for proftpd
This update for proftpd fixes the following issues:
- GeoIP has been discontinued by Maxmind (boo#1156210) This update removes module build for geoip see https://support.maxmind.com/geolite-legacy-discontinuation-notice/
- CVE-2019-19269: Fixed a NULL pointer dereference may occur when validating the certificate of a client connecting to the server (boo#1157803)
- CVE-2019-19270: Fixed a Failure to check for the appropriate field of a CRL entry prevents some valid CRLs from being taken into account (boo#1157798)
- CVE-2019-18217: Fixed remote unauthenticated denial-of-service due to incorrect handling of overly long commands (boo#1154600 gh#846)
Update to 1.3.6b
- Fixed pre-authentication remote denial-of-service issue (Issue #846).
- Backported fix for building mod_sql_mysql using MySQL 8 (Issue #824).
Update to 1.3.6a:
- Fixed symlink navigation (Bug#4332).
- Fixed building of mod_sftp using OpenSSL 1.1.x releases (Issue#674).
- Fixed SITE COPY honoring of <Limit> restrictions (Bug#4372).
- Fixed segfault on login when using mod_sftp + mod_sftp_pam (Issue#656).
- Fixed restarts when using mod_facl as a static module
- Add missing Requires(pre): group(ftp) for Leap 15 and Tumbleweed (boo#1155834)
- Add missing Requires(pre): user(ftp) for Leap 15 and Tumbleweed (boo#1155834)
- Use pam_keyinit.so (boo#1144056)
- Reduce hard dependency on systemd to only that which is necessary for building and installation.
update to 1.3.6:
- Support for using Redis for caching, logging; see the doc/howto/Redis.html documentation.
- Fixed mod_sql_postgres SSL support (Issue #415).
- Support building against LibreSSL instead of OpenSSL (Issue #361).
- Better support on AIX for login restraictions (Bug #4285).
- TimeoutLogin (and other timeouts) were not working properly for SFTP connections (Bug#4299).
- Handling of the SIGILL and SIGINT signals, by the daemon process, now causes the child processes to be terminated as well (Issue #461).
- RPM .spec file naming changed to conform to Fedora guidelines.
- Fix for 'AllowChrootSymlinks off' checking each component for symlinks (CVE-2017-7418).
New Modules:
- mod_redis, mod_tls_redis, mod_wrap2_redis With Redis now supported as a caching mechanism, similar to Memcache, there are now Redis-using modules: mod_redis (for configuring the Redis connection information), mod_tls_redis (for caching SSL sessions and OCSP information using Redis), and mod_wrap2_redis (for using ACLs stored in Redis).
Changed Modules:
- mod_ban: The mod_ban module's BanCache directive can now use Redis-based caching; see doc/contrib/mod_ban.html#BanCache.
-New Configuration Directives
-
SQLPasswordArgon2, SQLPasswordScrypt
The key lengths for Argon2 and Scrypt-based passwords are now configurable via these new directives; previously, the key length had been hardcoded to be 32 bytes, which is not interoperable with all other implementations (Issue #454).
Changed Configuration Directives
- AllowChrootSymlinks When 'AllowChrootSymlinks off' was used, only the last portion of the DefaultRoot path would be checked to see if it was a symlink. Now, each component of the DefaultRoot path will be checked to see if it is a symlink when 'AllowChrootSymlinks off' is used.
- Include
The Include directive can now be used within a <Limit> section, e.g.:
<Limit LOGIN>
Include /path/to/allowed.txt
DenyAll
</Limit>
API Changes
- A new JSON API has been added, for use by third-party modules.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2020:0031-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVopenSUSE-SU-2024:11196-1 No score
proftpd-1.3.6e-1.10 on GA media
These are all security issues fixed in the proftpd-1.3.6e-1.10 package on the GA media of openSUSE Tumbleweed.
- Record
openSUSE-SU-2024:11196-1- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
proftpd-dfsgDebian:12 |
before 1.3.6a-2 | 1.3.6a-2 |
proftpd-dfsgDebian:13 |
before 1.3.6a-2 | 1.3.6a-2 |
proftpd-dfsgDebian:14 |
before 1.3.6a-2 | 1.3.6a-2 |
proftpd-dfsgDebian:8 |
before 1.3.5e+r1.3.5-2+deb8u4, plus listed versions 1.3.5-1.11.3.5-1.1+deb8u11.3.5-1.1+deb8u21.3.5-21.3.5a-1 Show 10 moreShow less1.3.5b-11.3.5b-21.3.5b-31.3.5b-41.3.5d-11.3.5e+r1.3.5-2+deb8u11.3.5e+r1.3.5-2+deb8u21.3.5e+r1.3.5-2+deb8u31.3.5e-0+deb8u11.3.5e-1 |
1.3.5e+r1.3.5-2+deb8u4 |
proftpd-dfsgDebian:9 |
before 1.3.5b-4+deb9u2, plus listed versions 1.3.5b-41.3.5b-4+deb9u1 |
1.3.5b-4+deb9u2 |
proftpd-dfsgDebian:10 |
before 1.3.6-4+deb10u2, plus listed versions 1.3.6-41.3.6-4+deb10u1 |
1.3.6-4+deb10u2 |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.5-21.3.5a-11.3.5a-1build11.3.5a-1ubuntu0.1 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.5d-11.3.5e-1build1 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.6-6build21.3.6c-11.3.6c-21.3.6c-2ubuntu0.1 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.7b+dfsg-11.3.7c+dfsg-1build11.3.7c+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1 |
None known |
Show 8 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.8+dfsg-81.3.8.a+dfsg-11.3.8.b+dfsg-11.3.8.b+dfsg-1build11.3.8.b+dfsg-1build21.3.8.b+dfsg-1build31.3.8.b+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.8.c+dfsg-21.3.8.c+dfsg-41.3.9~dfsg-3 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.9~dfsg-41.3.9b~dfsg-11.3.9d~dfsg-1 |
None known |
proftpd-dfsgUbuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.3.9~dfsg-31.3.9~dfsg-4 |
None known |
proftpdSUSE:Package Hub 15 From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 | 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 |
proftpdSUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1 From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 | 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 |
proftpdopenSUSE:Leap 15.1 From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 | 1.3.6b-bp151.4.6.2 |
proftpdopenSUSE:Tumbleweed From an advisory covering 7 CVEs |
before 1.3.6e-1.10 | 1.3.6e-1.10 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclei | ProFTPD < 1.3.6b - Remote Unauthenticated DoS |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, Nuclei, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2019-18217 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Proftpd, published October 21, 2019. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 20.2%, the 97th percentile. Fixed in proftpd-dfsg 1.3.6a-2.
References
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/issues/846
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/blob/master/RELEASE_NOTES
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/blob/1.3.6/RELEASE_NOTES
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/blob/master/NEWS
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/blob/1.3.6/NEWS
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/10/msg00036.html
Show 30 moreShow less
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NJDQRVZTILBX4BUCTIRKP2WBHDHDCJR5
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YLRPYEEMQJVAXO2SXRGOQ4HBFEEPCNXG
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/RB2FPAWDWXT5ALAFIC5Y3RSEMXSFL6H2
seclists.org/bugtraq/2019/Nov/7
debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4559
lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-01/msg00009.html
cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-940889.pdf
security.gentoo.org/glsa/202003-35
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-18217
github.com/advisories/GHSA-5446-jrwr-x7c6
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-18217
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-18217
github.com/proftpd/proftpd/commit/13fe9462787b9a551152162f46f1641d65fe4df4
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-18217
lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/YQAELVZ2VM7ZCMMAPQ4KYBJ6KWLXIVC2
bugzilla.suse.com/1113041
bugzilla.suse.com/1144056
bugzilla.suse.com/1154600
bugzilla.suse.com/1155834
bugzilla.suse.com/1156210
bugzilla.suse.com/1157798
bugzilla.suse.com/1157803
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2017-7418
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-12815
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-18217
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-19269
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-19270
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2006-5815
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-9272
suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-9273