{"id":"CVE-2019-16941","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2019-16941","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T23:27:01.661Z","title":"NSA Ghidra through 9.0.4, when experimental mode is enabled, allows arbitrary code execution if the Read XML Files feature of Bit Patterns Explorer is used with a modified XML document.","description":"NSA Ghidra through 9.0.4, when experimental mode is enabled, allows arbitrary code execution if the Read XML Files feature of Bit Patterns Explorer is used with a modified XML document. This occurs in Features/BytePatterns/src/main/java/ghidra/bitpatterns/info/FileBitPatternInfoReader.java. An attack could start with an XML document that was originally created by DumpFunctionPatternInfoScript but then directly modified by an attacker (for example, to make a java.lang.Runtime.exec call).","published":"2019-09-28T16:15:10.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T02:23:00.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"cve@mitre.org","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-91"],"affected":["nsa/ghidra"],"epss":{"score":0.05133,"percentile":0.92343,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (5.13%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/blob/79d8f164f8bb8b15cfb60c5d4faeb8e1c25d15ca/Ghidra/Features/BytePatterns/src/main/java/ghidra/bitpatterns/info/FileBitPatternInfoReader.java#L187-L188","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/commit/a17728f8c12effa171b17a25ccfb7e7d9528c5d0","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/issues/1090","tags":["Exploit","Issue Tracking","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/purpleracc00n/CVE-2019-16941","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://twitter.com/NSAGov/status/1178812792159248385","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://www.symantec.com/security-center/vulnerabilities/writeup/110223?om_rssid=sr-advisories","source":"cve@mitre.org"},{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/blob/79d8f164f8bb8b15cfb60c5d4faeb8e1c25d15ca/Ghidra/Features/BytePatterns/src/main/java/ghidra/bitpatterns/info/FileBitPatternInfoReader.java#L187-L188","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/commit/a17728f8c12effa171b17a25ccfb7e7d9528c5d0","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra/issues/1090","tags":["Exploit","Issue Tracking","Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/purpleracc00n/CVE-2019-16941","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://twitter.com/NSAGov/status/1178812792159248385","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.symantec.com/security-center/vulnerabilities/writeup/110223?om_rssid=sr-advisories","source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16941","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}