CVE-2019-8961: A Denial of Service vulnerability related to stack exhaustion has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin

This month

HIGH 7.5REMOTEDOWNGRADE

CVE-2019-8961 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.5) affecting flexnet publisher. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

A Denial of Service vulnerability related to stack exhaustion has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe 11.16.2. Because the message reading function calls itself recursively given a certain condition in the received message, an unauthenticated remote attacker can repeatedly send messages of that type to cause a stack exhaustion condition.

Why this priority

High severity
Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

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

Risk facts

CVSS score	7.5 (High)
Attack vector	Network (remote)
Attack complexity	Low
Privileges needed	None
User interaction	None
EPSS exploit chance	1.8% (top 21%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-674
Published	2020-04-21
Last modified	2026-06-17

Publisher (CNA): Flexera Software LLC · Vendor: flexera

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

Am I affected?

Timeline

2020-04-21 15:15 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-17 02:42 UTCUpdated Record last modified

flexera flexnet publisher DOWNGRADE

Affected: 11.16.2

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 11.16.2

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy flexnet-publisher || rpm -q flexnet-publisher || flexnet-publisher --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 11.16.2 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison flexnet-publisher sudo apt install flexnet-publisher=<VERSION_BEFORE_11.16.2> sudo apt-mark hold flexnet-publisher

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list flexnet-publisher sudo dnf downgrade flexnet-publisher-<VERSION_BEFORE_11.16.2> sudo dnf versionlock add flexnet-publisher

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

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-2019-8961?

flexnet publisher: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2019-8961 being exploited?

CVE-2019-8961 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-2019-8961 affect?

CVE-2019-8961 affects flexnet publisher. Severity is high (CVSS 7.5). A Denial of Service vulnerability related to stack exhaustion has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe 11.16.2. Because the message reading function calls itself recursively given a certain condition in the received message, an

How urgent is CVE-2019-8961?

Priority 51/100. High severity; Remotely exploitable, no login, no user action

Related CVEs

CVE-2020-12081 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE An information disclosure vulnerability has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin.exe 11.14.0.2
CVE-2020-12080 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE A Denial of Service vulnerability has been identified in FlexNet Publisher's lmadmin.exe version 11.16.6
CVE-2019-8963 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE A Denial of Service (DoS) vulnerability was discovered in FlexNet Publisher's lmadmin 11.16.5, when doing a cr
CVE-2019-8960 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE A Denial of Service vulnerability related to command handling has been identified in FlexNet Publisher lmadmin
CVE-2018-20034 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE UPGRADE A Denial of Service vulnerability related to adding an item to a list in lmgrd and vendor daemon components of

References

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