CVE-2019-16278

Exp

Directory Traversal in the function http_verify in nostromo nhttpd through 1.9.6 allows an attacker to achieve remote code execution via a crafted HTTP request.

Published: 2019-10-14 Last update: 2025-11-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-16278 is rated Critical Active Threat (99.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 94.39%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2024-11-07) affecting Nostromo / nhttpd. a weakness (CWE-22) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2019-16278

Name: Nostromo nhttpd Directory Traversal Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2024-11-07

Action due: 2024-11-28

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2019-16278

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
47837 exploit_db edb 2020-01-01 Exploit-DB ↗
47573 exploit_db edb 2019-11-01 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-16278

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 94.01% 94.39% +0.38%
2 2025-11-18 94.39% 94.01% -0.38%
3 2025-03-17 — 94.39% —

Full EPSS history (14 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-16278

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-16278

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-16278

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nazgul nostromo_nhttpd < 1.9.7 cpe:2.3:a:nazgul:nostromo_nhttpd:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-16278

cvelogic Threat Intelligence