CVE-2020-15634 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2020-15634
Vulnerability Scoring

6.3
/10
High Risk

If left unpatched, CVE-2020-15634 could lead to major system disruptions or data loss.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Adjacent_network
    Attack Vector Under Analysis
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2020-15634 Details

Status: Analyzed

Last updated: 🕣 24 Aug 2020, 20:47 UTC
Originally published on: 🕐 20 Aug 2020, 01:17 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 4 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

nvd@nist.gov

CVSS3 Type

Primary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

CVE-2020-15634 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2020-15634: This vulnerability allows network-adjacent attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of NETGEAR R6700 routers with firmware 1.0.4.84_10.0.58. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of string table file uploads. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied string before using it as a format specifier. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the web server. Was ZDI-CAN-9755.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2020-15634

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2020-15634 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2020-15634

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2020-15634 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2020-15634, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2020-15634, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: Low
    CVE-2020-15634 could lead to minor leaks of non-critical information without major privacy breaches.
  • Integrity: Low
    Exploiting CVE-2020-15634 may cause minor changes to data without severely impacting its accuracy.
  • Availability: Low
    CVE-2020-15634 may slightly degrade system performance without fully affecting service availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.132% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 49.91% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 50.09% of others.

CVE-2020-15634 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-134

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Format String Injection CAPEC-135 An adversary includes formatting characters in a string input field on the target application. Most applications assume that users will provide static text and may respond unpredictably to the presence of formatting character. For example, in certain functions of the C programming languages such as printf, the formatting character %s will print the contents of a memory location expecting this location to identify a string and the formatting character %n prints the number of DWORD written in the memory. An adversary can use this to read or write to memory locations or files, or simply to manipulate the value of the resulting text in unexpected ways. Reading or writing memory may result in program crashes and writing memory could result in the execution of arbitrary code if the adversary can write to the program stack.
  • String Format Overflow in syslog() CAPEC-67 This attack targets applications and software that uses the syslog() function insecurely. If an application does not explicitely use a format string parameter in a call to syslog(), user input can be placed in the format string parameter leading to a format string injection attack. Adversaries can then inject malicious format string commands into the function call leading to a buffer overflow. There are many reported software vulnerabilities with the root cause being a misuse of the syslog() function.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.0.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.0.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.30:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.36:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.36:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.44:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.44:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.46:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.46:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.48:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.1.48:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.26:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.52:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.52:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.62:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.62:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.66:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.2.66:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.4.84:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:netgear:r6700_firmware:1.0.4.84:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:h:netgear:r6700:v3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:h:netgear:r6700:v3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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