CVE-2019-14837 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.1) CWE-547 vulnerability in org.keycloak:keycloak-core. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.keycloak:keycloak-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.
keycloak vulnerable to unauthorized login via mail server setup
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2019-14837 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
org.keycloak:keycloak-coreReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
A flaw was found in keycloack before version 8.0.0. The owner of 'placeholder.org' domain can setup mail server on this domain and knowing only name of a client can reset password and then log in. For example, for client name 'test' the email address will be '[email protected]'.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.keycloak:keycloak-core | all versions | 8.0.0org.keycloak:keycloak-core:8.0.0 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.keycloak:keycloak-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.keycloak:keycloak-core to 8.0.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2019-14837 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2019-14837 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2019-14837. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7.3 | see advisory | RHSA-2019:4045 |
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7.3 for RHEL 6 | rh-sso7-keycloak-0:4.8.15-1.Final_redhat_00001.1.el6sso | RHSA-2019:4040 |
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7.3 for RHEL 7 | rh-sso7-keycloak-0:4.8.15-1.Final_redhat_00001.1.el7sso | RHSA-2019:4041 |
| Red Hat Single Sign-On 7.3 for RHEL 8 | rh-sso7-keycloak-0:4.8.15-1.Final_redhat_00001.1.el8sso | RHSA-2019:4042 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2019-14837 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2019-14837 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.