How severe is CVE-2019-12579?

CVE-2019-12579 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2019-12579 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (52nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2019-12579?

CVE-2019-12579 affects Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2019-12579?

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-2019-12579 published?

CVE-2019-12579 was published on 2019-07-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2019-12579

CVE-2019-12579 is a high-severity vulnerability in Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8. 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-78.

Key facts

Severity: High (CVSS 3.x base score 7.8)
CVSS v2: 7.2
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (52nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected product: Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client
Published: 2019-07-11
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for Linux and macOS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The PIA Linux/macOS binary openvpn_launcher.64 binary is setuid root. This binary accepts several parameters to update the system configuration. These parameters are passed to operating system commands using a "here" document. The parameters are not sanitized, which allow for arbitrary commands to be injected using shell metacharacters. A local unprivileged user can pass special crafted parameters that will be interpolated by the operating system calls.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-12579?: A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for Linux and macOS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. The PIA Linux/macOS binary openvpn_launcher.64 binary is setuid root. This binary accepts several parameters to update the system configuration. These parameters are passed to operating system commands using a "here" document. The parameters are not sanitized, which allow for arbitrary commands to be injected using shell metacharacters. A local unprivileged user can pass special crafted parameters that will be interpolated by the operating system calls.
How severe is CVE-2019-12579?: CVE-2019-12579 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.8, rated high severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2019-12579 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (52nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2019-12579?: CVE-2019-12579 affects Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2019-12579?: 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-2019-12579 published?: CVE-2019-12579 was published on 2019-07-11 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://github.com/mirchr/security-research/blob/master/vulnerabilities/PIA/CVE-2019-12579.txt

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:londontrustmedia:private_internet_access_vpn_client:82:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client

CVE-2019-12578 — High (CVSS 7.8): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for Linux could allow an…
CVE-2019-12577 — High (CVSS 7.8): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for macOS could allow an…
CVE-2019-12576 — High (CVSS 7.8): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for macOS could allow an…
CVE-2019-12575 — High (CVSS 7.8): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for Linux could allow an…
CVE-2019-12574 — High (CVSS 7.8): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v1.0 for Windows could allow an…
CVE-2019-12573 — High (CVSS 7.1): A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v82 for Linux and macOS could allow…

All CVEs affecting Londontrustmedia Private Internet Access Vpn Client →

Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-56004 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): A shellcode injection in the mercurial handler of the obs tar_scm source service before version 0.12.4 could be used by…
CVE-2026-56415 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability within the debug.pl script that is…
CVE-2026-56413 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Storage Concentrator (SC & SCVM) contains a command injection vulnerability in the ms_service.pl service, which listens…
CVE-2026-49869 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in…
CVE-2026-49261 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MariaDB server is a community developed fork of MySQL server. Versions 10.6.1 through 10.6.26, 10.11.1 through…
CVE-2026-10520 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An OS Command Injection vulnerability in Ivanti Sentry before the R10.5.2, R10.6.2 and R10.7.1 versions allows a…

Browse all CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities →