How severe is CVE-2019-12312?

CVE-2019-12312 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.

Is CVE-2019-12312 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (84th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2019-12312?

CVE-2019-12312 affects Libreswan. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2019-12312?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2019-12312 published?

CVE-2019-12312 was published on 2019-05-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2019-12312

CVE-2019-12312 is a high-severity vulnerability in Libreswan with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-476.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.5)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 3% (84th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-476
Affected product: Libreswan
Published: 2019-05-24
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

In Libreswan 3.27 an assertion failure can lead to a pluto IKE daemon restart. An attacker can trigger a NULL pointer dereference by initiating an IKEv2 IKE_SA_INIT exchange, followed by a bogus INFORMATIONAL exchange instead of the normallly expected IKE_AUTH exchange. This affects send_v2N_spi_response_from_state() in programs/pluto/ikev2_send.c that will then trigger a NULL pointer dereference leading to a restart of libreswan.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-12312?: In Libreswan 3.27 an assertion failure can lead to a pluto IKE daemon restart. An attacker can trigger a NULL pointer dereference by initiating an IKEv2 IKE_SA_INIT exchange, followed by a bogus INFORMATIONAL exchange instead of the normallly expected IKE_AUTH exchange. This affects send_v2N_spi_response_from_state() in programs/pluto/ikev2_send.c that will then trigger a NULL pointer dereference leading to a restart of libreswan.
How severe is CVE-2019-12312?: CVE-2019-12312 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.5, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity none, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-12312 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 3% (84th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-12312?: CVE-2019-12312 affects Libreswan. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-12312?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2019-12312 published?: CVE-2019-12312 was published on 2019-05-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:libreswan:libreswan:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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