CVE-2019-5544
CRITICALCISA KEVEPSS 100th pctlDescription
OpenSLP as used in ESXi and the Horizon DaaS appliances has a heap overwrite issue. VMware has evaluated the severity of this issue to be in the Critical severity range with a maximum CVSSv3 base score of 9.8.
How to fix
TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works
Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.
VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
VMware ESXi and Horizon Desktop as a Service (DaaS) OpenSLP contains a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that allows an attacker with network access to port 427 to overwrite the heap of the OpenSLP service to perform remote code execution.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-05-03
Associated with ransomware campaigns
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-22457 | Critical | 9.0 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | Fix |
| CVE-2025-0282 | Critical | 9.0 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2015-3113 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2021-20038 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV + Ransom | - |
| CVE-2023-4863 | High | 8.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2020-16040 | Medium | 6.5 | 100% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2019-5544?
Published advisories record a fix for 2 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.
Is CVE-2019-5544 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2019-5544 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. CISA has also linked it to known ransomware campaigns. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2022-05-03. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.
How severe is CVE-2019-5544?
CVE-2019-5544 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
What does CVE-2019-5544 affect?
Published advisories record a fix for libslp1 (Ubuntu), openslp-dfsg (Ubuntu). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-10-30.