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Fencer Intel
high 7.7

CVE-2020-5208 json

remote code execution vulnerability in ipmitool

published 6y ago modified 4mo ago also EUVD-2020-26448

cvss
7.7
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
3.3%
EPSS 3.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 88%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

It's been found that multiple functions in ipmitool before 1.8.19 neglect proper checking of the data received from a remote LAN party, which may lead to buffer overflows and potentially to remote code execution on the ipmitool side. This is especially dangerous if ipmitool is run as a privileged user. This problem is fixed in version 1.8.19.

Patch / fix

  • ipmitool ipmitool < 1.8.19
  • ipmitool Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 1.8.18-10.1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5208

  • ipmitool Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 1.8.18-5ubuntu0.2
  • ipmitool Ubuntu 20.04 LTS 1.8.18-8ubuntu0.1
  • ipmitool Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS 1.8.16-3ubuntu0.2+esm1

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2020-5208

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • ipmitool RHEL 6 1.8.15-3.el6_10
  • ipmitool RHEL 7 1.8.18-9.el7_7
  • bmc-snmp-proxy RHEL 7 1.8.18-9.el7_7
  • exchange-bmc-os-info RHEL 7 1.8.18-9.el7_7
  • ipmitool RHEL 8 1.8.18-12.el8_1
  • ipmievd RHEL 8 1.8.18-12.el8_1
  • exchange-bmc-os-info RHEL 8 1.8.18-12.el8_1
  • ipmitool RHEL 7.3 TUS, RHEL 7.3 E4S, RHEL 7.3 AUS 1.8.15-8.el7_3

red hat advisories RHSA-2020:2276RHSA-2020:2284RHSA-2020:2286RHSA-2020:2213RHSA-2020:1486RHSA-2020:1331

  • ipmitool SLES for SAP 12 SP5, SLES for SAP 12 SP4, SLES for SAP 12 SP3 +9 more 1.8.18-5.9.1
  • ipmitool SLES for SAP 15, SLES 15-LTSS, SLE High Performance Computing 15-LTSS +1 more 1.8.18-4.3.1
  • ipmitool SLE Module for Server Applications 15 SP1, SLE Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 1.8.18-7.3.1
  • ipmitool SLES 11 SP4-LTSS 1.8.15-0.30.3.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2020:14313-1SUSE-SU-2020:0630-1SUSE-SU-2020:0617-1SUSE-SU-2020:0405-1

  • ipmitool openSUSE Tumbleweed 1.8.18.238.gb7adc1d-1.2
  • ipmitool openSUSE Leap 15.1 1.8.18-lp151.4.3.1

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2024:10864-1openSUSE-SU-2020:0247-1

  • ipmitool Alpine 3.24, Alpine 3.23, Alpine 3.22 +11 more 1.8.18-r9

alpine advisories ALPINE-CVE-2020-5208

Alpine secdb © Alpine Linux, from https://secdb.alpinelinux.org via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • ipmitool CBL-Mariner 2.0 1.8.18-21

azure linux advisories AZL-6489

Azure Linux vulnerability data, Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation, from https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData via OSV, under the MIT licence; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. MIT

  • ipmitool Arch Linux 1.8.18-7

arch linux advisories AVG-1596

Is CVE-2020-5208 in your stack? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.

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Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2020-5208 updated cvss 8.1

ipmitool: Buffer overflow in read_fru_area_section function in lib/ipmi_fru.c

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) ipmievd 1.8.18-12.el8_1, ipmitool 1.8.18-12.el8_1, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-12.el8_1
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0981
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream E4S (v. 8.0) ipmievd 1.8.18-12.el8_0, ipmitool 1.8.18-12.el8_0, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-12.el8_0
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0979
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0984
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.5) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_5, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_5, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1486
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.6) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2286
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0984
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.5) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_5, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_5, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1486
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.6) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2286
show 25 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) ipmitool 1.8.15-3.el6_10
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1331
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server Optional (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2286
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) ipmitool 1.8.15-3.el6_10 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) ipmitool 1.8.15-3.el6_10
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1331
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0984
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.2) ipmitool 1.8.13-10.el7_2, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.13-10.el7_2, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.13-10.el7_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2284
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.5) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_5, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_5, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1486
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2286
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0984
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.2) ipmitool 1.8.13-10.el7_2, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.13-10.el7_2, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.13-10.el7_2
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2284
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional E4S (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional E4S (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 7.5) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_5, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_5, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1486
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional EUS (v. 7.6) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_6, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_6, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2286
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional TUS (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional TUS (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.3) ipmitool 1.8.15-8.el7_3, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.15-8.el7_3, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.15-8.el7_3
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2276
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server TUS (v. 7.4) ipmitool 1.8.18-6.el7_4, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-6.el7_4, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-6.el7_4
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:2213
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) ipmitool 1.8.15-3.el6_10
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:1331
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) ipmitool 1.8.18-9.el7_7, bmc-snmp-proxy 1.8.18-9.el7_7, exchange-bmc-os-info 1.8.18-9.el7_7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2020:0984

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Exploit prediction

3.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 88% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.7 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N
NVD 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 6.5 AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Affected products

  • ipmitool ipmitool

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input

References

Sources

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.