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CVE Record

CVE-2019-1010239: DaveGamble/cJSON cJSON 1.7.8 is affected by: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions.

DaveGamble/cJSON cJSON 1.7.8 is affected by: Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions. The impact is: Null dereference, so attack can cause denial of service. The component is: cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive() function. The attack vector is: crafted json file. The fixed version is: 1.7.9 and later.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw affects cJSON 1.7.8, a C JSON parsing library. A specially crafted JSON file can trigger a null pointer dereference in one object lookup function, causing a crash. The known impact is denial of service, not data theft or code execution. The source bundle names cJSON 1.7.9 and later as fixed.

Executive priority

Treat this as an availability risk requiring routine but timely remediation. Escalate priority if vulnerable cJSON is in externally reachable services, critical appliances, or workloads where a crash creates operational outage or customer impact.

Technical view

CVE-2019-1010239 is an improper exceptional-condition handling issue in cJSON_GetObjectItemCaseSensitive() in cJSON 1.7.8. The documented attack vector is a crafted JSON file that can cause a null dereference and denial of service. No CVSS score or CWE is provided in the bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in software that embeds or links DaveGamble/cJSON 1.7.8 and parses JSON controlled by users, partners, files, APIs, or network input. Products using newer cJSON versions are not indicated as affected by the bundle.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not report active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Exploitation requires getting a crafted JSON input processed by vulnerable cJSON code. Business impact depends on whether crashes affect a critical service, batch processor, appliance, or user-facing application.

Researcher notes

The public bundle is narrow: it names the affected function, impact, vector, and fixed version, but provides no CVSS score, CWE mapping, or confirmed exploitation. Avoid broad product claims unless a vendor advisory specifically confirms bundled vulnerable cJSON.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade DaveGamble/cJSON to version 1.7.9 or later.
  • Inventory vendored cJSON copies, not only package-managed dependencies.
  • Check downstream vendor advisories for products that bundle cJSON.
  • Restrict or validate untrusted JSON inputs where immediate upgrade is delayed.
  • Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or availability-critical JSON processing paths.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm all cJSON instances report version 1.7.9 or later.
  • Search source trees and build artifacts for bundled cJSON 1.7.8.
  • Identify services that parse untrusted JSON using cJSON.
  • Run existing JSON parser regression tests after upgrade.
  • Review crash telemetry for null dereference failures in cJSON paths.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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CVE-2019-1010239 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
DaveGamble/cJSONcJSON1.7.8 [fixed: 1.7.9 and later]Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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