CVE-2019-18659: The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) protocol allows remote attackers to spoof a Presidential Alert because cry

Routine

MEDIUM 5.3REMOTEMITIGATE

CVE-2019-18659 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.3) affecting wireless emergency alerts. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) protocol allows remote attackers to spoof a Presidential Alert because cryptographic authentication is not used, as demonstrated by MessageIdentifier 4370 in LTE System Information Block 12 (aka SIB12). NOTE: testing inside an RF-isolated shield box suggested that all LTE phones are affected by design (e.g., use of Android versus iOS does not matter); testing in an open RF environment is, of course, contraindic

Why this priority

Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.3 (Medium)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	1.0% (top 38%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-290
Published	2019-11-02
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: ready

Last updated 2026-06-17 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2019-11-02 01:15 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 02:25 UTCUpdated Record last modified

ready wireless emergency alerts MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy wireless-emergency-alerts || rpm -q wireless-emergency-alerts || wireless-emergency-alerts --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2019-18659?

wireless emergency alerts: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2019-18659 being exploited?

CVE-2019-18659 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2019-18659 affect?

CVE-2019-18659 affects wireless emergency alerts. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.3). The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) protocol allows remote attackers to spoof a Presidential Alert because cryptographic authentication is not used, as demonstrated by MessageIdentifier 4370 in LTE System Information Block 12 (aka SIB12). N

How urgent is CVE-2019-18659?

Priority 39/100. Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Software pages

Android vulnerabilities · iOS vulnerabilities

References

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