How severe is CVE-2019-12998?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2019-12998 known to be exploited?

5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Elementsproject C-Lightning

CVE-2019-12998

c-lightning before 0.7.1 allows attackers to trigger loss of funds because of Incorrect Access Control. NOTE: README.md states "It can be used for testing, but it should not be used for real funds."

Published 2020-01-31 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.018 (77.3th percentile), scored 2026-10-05.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 77th percentile — 77.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.018 · newest: 0.018 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Elementsproject C-Lightning

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

github.com/ElementsProject/lightning/commits/master (Patch, Third Party Advisory)
lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/lightning-dev/2019-September/002174.html (Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2019-12998?: CVE-2019-12998 is a high-severity vulnerability in Elementsproject C-Lightning. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2020-01-31.
How severe is CVE-2019-12998?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2019-12998 known to be exploited?: 5 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.