CVE-2019-8978: An improper authentication vulnerability can be exploited through a race condition that occurs in Ellucian Banner Web…

Is it exploited?

Reported, not confirmed by CISA. VulnCheck KEV lists it as exploited in the wild. CISA has not added it to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 29 Oct 2026.

VulnCheck KEV lists it since 19 Jul 2019. It cites 1 public report, the first from 19 Jul 2019.

zdnet.com

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

5.9%

EPSS score, percentile 93.2 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

Not scored

The CVE record carries no CVSS score.

What should I do?

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

Which versions are affected?

Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.

Source: CISA KEV 2026.10.29, as of 29 Oct 2026; VulnCheck KEV, as of 30 Oct 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 29 Oct 2026; CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

An improper authentication vulnerability can be exploited through a race condition that occurs in Ellucian Banner Web Tailor 8.8.3, 8.8.4, and 8.9 and Banner Enterprise Identity Services 8.3, 8.3.1, 8.3.2, and 8.4, in conjunction with SSO Manager. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to steal a victim's session (and cause a denial of service) by repeatedly requesting the initial Banner Web Tailor main page with the IDMSESSID cookie set to the victim's UDCID, which in the case tested is the institutional ID. During a login attempt by a victim, the attacker can leverage the race condition and will be issued the SESSID that was meant for this victim.

Source: CVE List, as of 30 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 30 Oct 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.