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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2019-15949

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2021-11-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2019-09-05
  • Fixed in5.6.6
  • WeaknessCWE-78

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Nagios XI before 5.6.6 allows remote command execution as root. The exploit requires access to the server as the nagios user, or access as the admin user via the web interface. The getprofile.sh script, invoked by downloading a system profile (profile.php?cmd=download), is executed as root via a passwordless sudo entry; the script executes check_plugin, which is owned by the nagios user. A user logged into Nagios XI with permissions to modify plugins, or the nagios user on the server, can modify the check_plugin executable and insert malicious commands to execute as root.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2019-09-0517:15CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2020-03-10Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB
  3. 2021-11-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  4. 2021-11-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  5. 2021-11-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  6. 2025-02-0420:07SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2019-15949?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2019-15949?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Nagios nagios xi
BranchAffectedFixed in
5.6< 5.6.65.6.6

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. Update Nagios nagios xi to 5.6.6
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-05-03

Detection

read 2026-11-02 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-48191EDB-52138
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedplur1bu5/Nagios-CVE-2019-15949-RCE
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
2 modulesexploit/linux/http/nagios_xi_plugins_check_plugin_authenticated_rcerank: excellentauxiliary/scanner/http/nagios_xi_scannerrank: normalModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2021-11-03
Patch Due Date
2022-05-03
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2019-09-05
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-8qv6-943v-r8gm

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-15949?

Nagios XI before 5.6.6 allows remote command execution as root. The exploit requires access to the server as the nagios user, or access as the admin user via the web interface. The getprofile.sh script, invoked by downloading a system profile (profile.php?cmd=download), is executed as root via a passwordless sudo entry; the script executes check_plugin, which is owned by the nagios user. A user logged into Nagios XI with permissions to modify plugins, or the nagios user on the server, can modify the check_plugin executable and insert malicious commands to execute as root.

Is CVE-2019-15949 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2019-15949 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-05-03.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2019-15949?

CVE-2019-15949 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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Sources for this record