CVE-2019-16759

Exp

vBulletin 5.x through 5.5.4 allows remote command execution via the widgetConfig[code] parameter in an ajax/render/widget_php routestring request.

Published: 2019-09-24 Last update: 2025-11-07 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-16759 is rated Critical Active Threat (99.3/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 94.41%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting vBulletin / vBulletin. a weakness (CWE-94) 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-2019-16759

Name: vBulletin PHP Module Remote Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2021-11-03

Action due: 2022-05-03

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2019-16759

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
47437 exploit_db edb 2019-09-30 Exploit-DB ↗
47447 exploit_db edb 2019-09-23 Exploit-DB ↗
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Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-16759

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 2026-02-04 94.34% 94.41% +0.06%
2 2026-02-01 94.41% 94.34% -0.06%
3 2026-01-04 — 94.41% —

Full EPSS history (24 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-16759

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-2019-16759

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-16759

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vbulletin vbulletin >= 5.0.0, <= 5.5.4 cpe:2.3:a:vbulletin:vbulletin:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-16759

URL Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154623/vBulletin-5.x-0-Day-Pre-Auth-Remote-Command-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/154648/vBulletin-5.x-Pre-Auth-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/155633/vBulletin-5.5.4-Remote-Command-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158829/vBulletin-5.x-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158830/vBulletin-5.x-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/158866/vBulletin-5.x-Remote-Code-Execution.html Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/5 Exploit Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/public-exploit-code-spawns-mass-attacks-against-high-severity-vbulletin-bug/ Exploit Press/Media Coverage Third Party Advisory
https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2019/Sep/31 Exploit Mailing List Third Party Advisory
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/09/24/vbulletin_vbug_zeroday/ Press/Media Coverage Third Party Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-16759 US Government Resource
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