Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-20918 is a denial-of-service flaw in InspIRCd 3 before 3.1.0. A fully connected user could remotely crash the IRC server through the silence module. The available sources do not indicate data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for public or user-facing IRC services because a normal connected user could disrupt availability. This is not sourced as actively exploited, but service downtime risk is direct and easy to understand.
Technical view
The issue is a use-after-free vulnerability in InspIRCd's silence module. The stated impact is remote server crash by any user able to fully connect to the server. Affected scope is described as InspIRCd 3 before 3.1.0; the bundle does not provide CVSS, CWE, or detailed affected CPE data.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant for organizations running InspIRCd 3 earlier than 3.1.0, especially Internet-accessible IRC services or private servers with untrusted users. Confirm whether the silence module is enabled; the source bundle does not state default module status.
Exploitation context
The source bundle supports remote crash potential by a fully connected user. It does not cite public exploitation, KEV listing, exploit code, or weaponized activity. Treat this as an availability risk, not a confirmed compromise risk.
Researcher notes
Key gaps are absent CVSS, CWE, CPE, exploit-status evidence, and detailed advisory text in the bundle. Analysis should stay bounded to InspIRCd 3 before 3.1.0 and the silence-module remote crash condition.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade InspIRCd 3 deployments to version 3.1.0 or later.
- Review the InspIRCd security advisory for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
- Inventory servers that allow untrusted users to fully connect.
- Confirm whether the silence module is enabled on each deployment.
- Apply operational monitoring for unexpected InspIRCd crashes or restarts.
Validation and detection
- Check installed InspIRCd versions and identify any earlier than 3.1.0.
- Review module configuration for use of the silence module.
- Confirm public or untrusted user access paths to affected servers.
- Verify patched hosts remain stable after upgrade or configuration changes.
- Document any compensating controls where immediate upgrade is delayed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2019-20918 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://docs.inspircd.org/security/2019-01/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/inspircd/inspircd/commit/bcd65de1ec4bb71591ae417fee649d7ecd37cd57CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/inspircd/inspircd/commit/7b47de3c194f239c5fea09a0e49696c9af017d51CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.