CVE-2019-20794 (GCVE-0-2019-20794)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2020-05-09 17:35 – Updated: 2026-10-08 21:03
VLAI
Summary
An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace's pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion.
Severity
No CVSS data available.
SSVC
Exploitation: none Automatable: no Technical Impact: partial
CISA Coordinator · CISA-ADP (v2.0.3)
Decision recorded 2026-10-08 21:01 UTC
CWE
  • n/a
Assigner
mitre CNA under the mitre root
CNA scorecard E 29/100 over 2316 records in the last 180 days details
Show details on NVD website

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2024-08-05T02:53:09.326Z",
          "orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
          "shortName": "CVE"
        },
        "references": [
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_refsource_MISC",
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
          },
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_refsource_MISC",
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
          },
          {
            "tags": [
              "x_refsource_CONFIRM",
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
          },
          {
            "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
            "tags": [
              "mailing-list",
              "x_refsource_MLIST",
              "x_transferred"
            ],
            "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
          }
        ],
        "title": "CVE Program Container"
      },
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2019-20794",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-10-08T21:01:25.503985Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-10-08T21:03:30.090Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "n/a",
          "vendor": "n/a",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "n/a"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion."
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "description": "n/a",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "text"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2020-08-24T11:06:07.000Z",
        "orgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
        "shortName": "mitre"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
        },
        {
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
        },
        {
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_CONFIRM"
          ],
          "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
        },
        {
          "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
          "tags": [
            "mailing-list",
            "x_refsource_MLIST"
          ],
          "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
        }
      ],
      "x_legacyV4Record": {
        "CVE_data_meta": {
          "ASSIGNER": "cve@mitre.org",
          "ID": "CVE-2019-20794",
          "STATE": "PUBLIC"
        },
        "affects": {
          "vendor": {
            "vendor_data": [
              {
                "product": {
                  "product_data": [
                    {
                      "product_name": "n/a",
                      "version": {
                        "version_data": [
                          {
                            "version_value": "n/a"
                          }
                        ]
                      }
                    }
                  ]
                },
                "vendor_name": "n/a"
              }
            ]
          }
        },
        "data_format": "MITRE",
        "data_type": "CVE",
        "data_version": "4.0",
        "description": {
          "description_data": [
            {
              "lang": "eng",
              "value": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion."
            }
          ]
        },
        "problemtype": {
          "problemtype_data": [
            {
              "description": [
                {
                  "lang": "eng",
                  "value": "n/a"
                }
              ]
            }
          ]
        },
        "references": {
          "reference_data": [
            {
              "name": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example",
              "refsource": "MISC",
              "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
            },
            {
              "name": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/",
              "refsource": "MISC",
              "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
            },
            {
              "name": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/",
              "refsource": "CONFIRM",
              "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
            },
            {
              "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
              "refsource": "MLIST",
              "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
    "assignerShortName": "mitre",
    "cveId": "CVE-2019-20794",
    "datePublished": "2020-05-09T17:35:50.000Z",
    "dateReserved": "2020-05-09T00:00:00.000Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-10-08T21:03:30.090Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2019-20794",
      "date": "2026-10-27",
      "epss": "0.00512",
      "percentile": "0.43466"
    },
    "microsoft_vex": {
      "current_release_date": "2020-09-25T00:00:00.000Z",
      "cve": "CVE-2019-20794",
      "id": "msrc_CVE-2019-20794",
      "initial_release_date": "2020-05-02T00:00:00.000Z",
      "product_status:fixed": "1",
      "product_status:known_affected": "1",
      "source": "Microsoft CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1 it will result in a hung task and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion.",
      "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/csaf/vex/2020/msrc_cve-2019-20794.json",
      "version": "1"
    },
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "product": "n/a",
                "vendor": "n/a",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "n/a"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "cve@mitre.org"
          }
        ],
        "configurations": [
          {
            "nodes": [
              {
                "cpeMatch": [
                  {
                    "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
                    "matchCriteriaId": "0A8D6D95-6D5A-4164-9E07-46605A4AC000",
                    "versionEndIncluding": "5.6.11",
                    "versionStartIncluding": "4.18",
                    "vulnerable": true
                  }
                ],
                "negate": false,
                "operator": "OR"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "value": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion."
          },
          {
            "lang": "es",
            "value": "Se detect\u00f3 un problema en el kernel de Linux versiones 4.18 hasta 5.6.11, cuando los espacios de nombre de un usuario no privilegiado est\u00e1n permitidos. Un usuario puede crear su propio espacio de nombre PID, y montar un sistema de archivos FUSE. Tras interactuar con este sistema de archivos FUSE, si el componente namespace es finalizado por medio de la eliminaci\u00f3n del pid 1 del espacio de nombre PID, resultar\u00e1 en una suspensi\u00f3n de tarea, y los recursos se bloquear\u00e1n permanentemente hasta que se reinicie el sistema. Esto puede resultar en un agotamiento de los recursos."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2019-20794",
        "lastModified": "2026-10-08T21:17:19.947",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV2": [
            {
              "acInsufInfo": false,
              "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
              "cvssData": {
                "accessComplexity": "MEDIUM",
                "accessVector": "LOCAL",
                "authentication": "NONE",
                "availabilityImpact": "COMPLETE",
                "baseScore": 4.7,
                "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
                "integrityImpact": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C",
                "version": "2.0"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 3.4,
              "impactScore": 6.9,
              "obtainAllPrivilege": false,
              "obtainOtherPrivilege": false,
              "obtainUserPrivilege": false,
              "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
              "type": "Primary",
              "userInteractionRequired": false
            }
          ],
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 4.7,
                "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
                "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
                "integrityImpact": "NONE",
                "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
                "scope": "UNCHANGED",
                "userInteraction": "NONE",
                "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
                "version": "3.1"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.0,
              "impactScore": 3.6,
              "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
              "type": "Primary"
            }
          ],
          "ssvcV203": [
            {
              "source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
              "ssvcData": {
                "id": "CVE-2019-20794",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "exploitation": "none"
                  },
                  {
                    "automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "technicalImpact": "partial"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-10-08T21:01:25.503985Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              }
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2020-05-09T18:15:11.157",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "cve@mitre.org",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve@mitre.org",
            "tags": [
              "Exploit",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve@mitre.org",
            "tags": [
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
          },
          {
            "source": "cve@mitre.org",
            "tags": [
              "Exploit",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Mailing List",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Exploit",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
          },
          {
            "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
            "tags": [
              "Exploit",
              "Third Party Advisory"
            ],
            "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "cve@mitre.org",
        "vulnStatus": "Modified",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-772"
              }
            ],
            "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
            "type": "Primary"
          }
        ]
      }
    },
    "redhat_vex": {
      "aggregate_severity": "Moderate",
      "current_release_date": "2026-10-08T23:49:01+00:00",
      "cve": "CVE-2019-20794",
      "id": "CVE-2019-20794",
      "initial_release_date": "2019-01-01T00:00:00+00:00",
      "product_status:known_affected": "78",
      "product_status:known_not_affected": "121",
      "source": "Red Hat CSAF VEX",
      "status": "final",
      "title": "kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
      "url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2019/cve-2019-20794.json",
      "version": "3"
    },
    "vulnrichment": {
      "containers": {
        "adp": [
          {
            "providerMetadata": {
              "dateUpdated": "2024-08-05T02:53:09.326Z",
              "orgId": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108",
              "shortName": "CVE"
            },
            "references": [
              {
                "tags": [
                  "x_refsource_MISC",
                  "x_transferred"
                ],
                "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
              },
              {
                "tags": [
                  "x_refsource_MISC",
                  "x_transferred"
                ],
                "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
              },
              {
                "tags": [
                  "x_refsource_CONFIRM",
                  "x_transferred"
                ],
                "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
              },
              {
                "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
                "tags": [
                  "mailing-list",
                  "x_refsource_MLIST",
                  "x_transferred"
                ],
                "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
              }
            ],
            "title": "CVE Program Container"
          },
          {
            "metrics": [
              {
                "other": {
                  "content": {
                    "id": "CVE-2019-20794",
                    "options": [
                      {
                        "Exploitation": "none"
                      },
                      {
                        "Automatable": "no"
                      },
                      {
                        "Technical Impact": "partial"
                      }
                    ],
                    "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                    "timestamp": "2026-10-08T21:01:25.503985Z",
                    "version": "2.0.3"
                  },
                  "type": "ssvc"
                }
              }
            ],
            "providerMetadata": {
              "dateUpdated": "2026-10-08T21:01:26.267Z",
              "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
              "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
            },
            "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
          }
        ],
        "cna": {
          "affected": [
            {
              "product": "n/a",
              "vendor": "n/a",
              "versions": [
                {
                  "status": "affected",
                  "version": "n/a"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "lang": "en",
              "value": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion."
            }
          ],
          "problemTypes": [
            {
              "descriptions": [
                {
                  "description": "n/a",
                  "lang": "en",
                  "type": "text"
                }
              ]
            }
          ],
          "providerMetadata": {
            "dateUpdated": "2020-08-24T11:06:07.000Z",
            "orgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
            "shortName": "mitre"
          },
          "references": [
            {
              "tags": [
                "x_refsource_MISC"
              ],
              "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
            },
            {
              "tags": [
                "x_refsource_MISC"
              ],
              "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
            },
            {
              "tags": [
                "x_refsource_CONFIRM"
              ],
              "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
            },
            {
              "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
              "tags": [
                "mailing-list",
                "x_refsource_MLIST"
              ],
              "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
            }
          ],
          "x_legacyV4Record": {
            "CVE_data_meta": {
              "ASSIGNER": "cve@mitre.org",
              "ID": "CVE-2019-20794",
              "STATE": "PUBLIC"
            },
            "affects": {
              "vendor": {
                "vendor_data": [
                  {
                    "product": {
                      "product_data": [
                        {
                          "product_name": "n/a",
                          "version": {
                            "version_data": [
                              {
                                "version_value": "n/a"
                              }
                            ]
                          }
                        }
                      ]
                    },
                    "vendor_name": "n/a"
                  }
                ]
              }
            },
            "data_format": "MITRE",
            "data_type": "CVE",
            "data_version": "4.0",
            "description": {
              "description_data": [
                {
                  "lang": "eng",
                  "value": "An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel 4.18 through 5.6.11 when unprivileged user namespaces are allowed. A user can create their own PID namespace, and mount a FUSE filesystem. Upon interaction with this FUSE filesystem, if the userspace component is terminated via a kill of the PID namespace\u0027s pid 1, it will result in a hung task, and resources being permanently locked up until system reboot. This can result in resource exhaustion."
                }
              ]
            },
            "problemtype": {
              "problemtype_data": [
                {
                  "description": [
                    {
                      "lang": "eng",
                      "value": "n/a"
                    }
                  ]
                }
              ]
            },
            "references": {
              "reference_data": [
                {
                  "name": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example",
                  "refsource": "MISC",
                  "url": "https://github.com/sargun/fuse-example"
                },
                {
                  "name": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/",
                  "refsource": "MISC",
                  "url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/fuse/mailman/message/36598753/"
                },
                {
                  "name": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/",
                  "refsource": "CONFIRM",
                  "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200608-0001/"
                },
                {
                  "name": "[oss-security] 20200824 CVE-2019-20794 kernel: task processes not being properly ended could lead to resource exhaustion",
                  "refsource": "MLIST",
                  "url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/08/24/1"
                }
              ]
            }
          }
        }
      },
      "cveMetadata": {
        "assignerOrgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
        "assignerShortName": "mitre",
        "cveId": "CVE-2019-20794",
        "datePublished": "2020-05-09T17:35:50.000Z",
        "dateReserved": "2020-05-09T00:00:00.000Z",
        "dateUpdated": "2026-10-08T21:03:30.090Z",
        "state": "PUBLISHED"
      },
      "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
      "dataVersion": "5.2"
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.


Loading…

Loading…

Loading…

Drag nodes to arrange them. Double-click a related vulnerability to open it, or a source to visit its link. The Physics button on the left tunes the layout and the simulation; the legend at the bottom left hides or shows nodes by kind and by sighting type.

Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Vulnerability timeline

Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC

JSON
Events included in the timeline

Loading timeline…


    Loading…

    Loading…

    Loading…

    Related by attack behaviour

    Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.