CVE-2020-19189 — Buffer Overflow vulnerability in postprocess_terminfo function in tinfo/parse_entry.c:997 in...

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Invisible-island Ncurses, Netapp Active Iq Unified Manager).
2. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
3. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
4. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
5. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 2.29%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

• Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
• Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• Record published
  Oct 14, 2026
• Affected products added · invisible-island/ncurses, netapp/active iq unified manager, debian/debian linux
  Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• CVSS changed · 6.5
  Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · → Modified
  Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Record created in this database
  Oct 14, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
• 2023
• CVE published
  Aug 22, 2023 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

• 2× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
• 1× Official description updated · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026

References

13 on the record

• support.apple.com/kb/HT214038
  NIST National Vulnerability Database
• security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231006-0005/
  Third Party Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00033.html
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, mailing-list, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html
  NIST National Vulnerability Database
• security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20231006-0005
  GitHub Security Advisories
• github.com/zjuchenyuan/fuzzpoc/blob/master/infotocap_poc5.md
  Exploit, Third Party Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-gx38-wj66-8wfr
  GitHub Security Advisories
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-19189
  GitHub Security Advisories
• seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Dec/11
  mailing-list, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• support.apple.com/kb/HT214037
  NIST National Vulnerability Database
• seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Dec/9
  mailing-list, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• support.apple.com/kb/HT214036
  NIST National Vulnerability Database
• seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Dec/10
  mailing-list, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
• Medium CVE-2026-14355 ext/openssl: Memory corruption in openssl_encrypt with AES-WRAP-PAD Jul 3, 2026
• Medium CVE-2026-56968 Use of Uninitialized Resource in Gnu Sasl Jun 23, 2026
• High CVE-2026-49975 Apache HTTP Server: mod_http2 denial of service Jun 8, 2026
• High CVE-2026-9256 NGINX ngx_http_rewrite_module vulnerability May 22, 2026
• High CVE-2026-46333 ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic May 15, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

• No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
• No CISA SSVC assessment.
• No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
• No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
• No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2020-19189 is "Buffer Overflow vulnerability in postprocess_terminfo function in tinfo/parse_entry.c:997 in...", rated Medium. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 6.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 2.29% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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