# CVE-2020-5208: remote code execution vulnerability in ipmitool > Remote attackers can trigger buffer overflows in ipmitool to execute arbitrary code, especially if the tool runs with elevated privileges. - **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 5 Feb 2020 - **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** AZL-6489, DEBIAN-CVE-2020-5208, DLA-2098-1, DLA-2699-1, GHSA-g659-9qxw-p7cp, MGASA-2020-0097, MGASA-2023-0135, RHSA-2020:0979, RHSA-2020:0981, RHSA-2020:0984, RHSA-2020:1331, RHSA-2020:1486, RHSA-2020:2213, RHSA-2020:2276, RHSA-2020:2284, RHSA-2020:2286, SUSE-SU-2020:0405-1, SUSE-SU-2020:0617-1, SUSE-SU-2020:0630-1, SUSE-SU-2020:14313-1, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-5208, USN-5997-1, openSUSE-SU-2020:0247-1, openSUSE-SU-2024:10864-1 ## What is CVE-2020-5208? CVE-2020-5208 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 5 Feb 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description 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. Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5208? It affects 4 products. | Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.15-3.el6_10 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation | All versions | 0:1.8.18-9.el7_7 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `ipmievd` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `ipmievd-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `ipmitool-debugsource` | Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream | All versions | 0:1.8.18-12.el8_1 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server | All versions | 0:1.8.13-10.el7_2 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server | All versions | 0:1.8.13-10.el7_2 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server | All versions | 0:1.8.13-10.el7_2 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.2::server | All versions | 0:1.8.13-10.el7_2 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-6.el7_4 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-6.el7_4 | | `ipmitool` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-6.el7_4 | | `ipmitool-debuginfo` | Red Hat:rhel_aus:7.4::server | All versions | 0:1.8.18-6.el7_4 | | `bmc-snmp-proxy` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | | `exchange-bmc-os-info` | Red Hat:rhel_e4s:7.3::server | All versions | 0:1.8.15-8.el7_3 | Products: Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Ipmitool Project Ipmitool, Opensuse Leap. ## How do I fix CVE-2020-5208? Upgrade to a fixed version. ## Is CVE-2020-5208 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5208 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Debian Debian Linux - [CVE-2015-3306](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3306/): ProFTPD Improper Access Control (critical 10.0, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-49113](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-49113/): RoundCube Webmail Deserialization of Untrusted Data (critical 9.9, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-24061](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24061/): GNU InetUtils Argument Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2025-39682](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-39682/): Linux Kernel Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2024-9680](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9680/): Mozilla Firefox Use-After-Free (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5208 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2020-5208 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Debian Debian Linux, published on 5 Feb 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5208 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Debian Debian Linux. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5208/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5208/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5208 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5208 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5208 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5208/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.