# A poorly-behaved client could use keepalive requests to monopolize Puma's reactor and create a denial of service attack

Advisory record · `GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994`

- **Identifiers:** `GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994` · `CVE-2019-16770`
- **State:** Confirmed
- **Severity:** CVSS 5.3 Medium
- **Critical:** No
- **Weakness (CWE):** [CWE-770](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/770.html)
- **Tags:** [Denial of service](https://agentprime.io/advisories/tag/dos.md)
- **Published:** 5 Dec 2019
- **Updated:** 8 Jul 2026
- **Reviewed by a person:** No

Published by the GitHub Advisory Database at 5 Dec 2019, 19:26 UTC. agentprime has not analysed this yet, so whether it affects any app is not known.

## Affected packages

- `puma` (RubyGems): affected `<3.12.2 || >=4.0.0, <4.3.1`; fixed in `3.12.2`, `4.3.1`

## Not analysed yet

We haven’t published our analysis of this Advisory yet. Once a person has reviewed it, this page will say what’s vulnerable, what has to be true for your app to be affected, and how to check.

## Severity and exploitation

- 5.3 Medium, CVSS 3.1: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`, from CNA (GitHub_M)

- **CISA KEV:** Not listed.
- **EPSS:** 0.020, the 81st percentile, on 10 Nov 2026: FIRST’s estimate of the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

## Timeline

- 5 Dec 2019, 07:19 UTC: [Published by the maintainers as a GitHub repository advisory](https://github.com/puma/puma/security/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994)

## Sources

- [GitHub Advisory Database: GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994)
- [OSV: GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994](https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994)
- <https://github.com/puma/puma/security/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994>
- <https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-16770>
- <https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994>
- <https://github.com/rubysec/ruby-advisory-db/blob/master/gems/puma/CVE-2019-16770.yml>
- <https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/05/msg00034.html>

Facts on this page come from the GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY 4.0), OSV and the other sources listed, as published. We don’t reproduce full advisory descriptions, which can contain exploit code.

## Check whether this affects you

A Match means an installed version is in the affected range above. Most don’t affect the app; agentprime hasn’t analysed this one yet.

- With the agentprime MCP server (<https://api.agentprime.io/mcp>), ask your agent to check the project: `check_lockfile` sends a lockfile, `check_packages` a list of installed packages, and both return the Matches and the upgrades that clear them. `get_advisory` returns this record. Setup: <https://agentprime.io/mcp.md>
- In a browser: <https://agentprime.io/check/> reads your lockfile in the browser, never uploading it.
- Whether it touches your code, with file and line: the Claude Code plugin, <https://agentprime.io/plugin.md>
- As JSON: <https://api.agentprime.io/v1/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994>, or `POST https://api.agentprime.io/v1/match` with your packages (<https://agentprime.io/api.md>)

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The web page: <https://agentprime.io/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-m584-x994/>. Everything for agents: <https://agentprime.io/llms.txt>.