Is CVE-2019-16928 actively exploited?

CVE-2019-16928 has no public evidence of in-the-wild exploitation as of 2025-11-07.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2019-16928?

CVE-2019-16928 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL severity). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

How do I patch CVE-2019-16928?

Patch guidance is available from exim security advisories. CVEDatabase generates AI-assisted remediation guidance on demand for CVE-2019-16928.

Fix CVE-2019-16928 - CRITICAL exim exim

Q: Which products are affected by CVE-2019-16928?

6 products: exim exim, canonical ubuntu linux, debian debian linux, fedoraproject fedora, fedoraproject fedora, and 1 more.

Description

Exim 4.92 through 4.92.2 allows remote code execution, a different vulnerability than CVE-2019-15846. There is a heap-based buffer overflow in string_vformat in string.c involving a long EHLO command.

CVSS Metrics

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack Vector: network
Complexity: low
Privileges: none
User Action: none
Scope: unchanged
Confidentiality: high
Integrity: high
Availability: high
Weaknesses: CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

Metadata

Primary Vendor: EXIM
Published: 9/27/2019
Last Modified: 11/7/2025
Source: NIST NVD
Note: Verify all details with official vendor sources before applying patches.

Affected Products

exim : eximcanonical : ubuntu_linuxdebian : debian_linuxfedoraproject : fedorafedoraproject : fedorafedoraproject : fedora

Remediation Guidance

Executive Summary

View on NIST NVD