Login Sign Up

CVE-2020-7209

9.8 CRITICAL
Remote Code Execution

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2020-7209 is a remote command injection vulnerability in LinuxKI versions 6.0-1 and earlier that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems. This affects systems running vulnerable versions of the LinuxKI performance diagnostic tool, potentially giving attackers full control over compromised hosts. The vulnerability is resolved in version 6.0-2.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • LinuxKI
  • HP LinuxKI Toolset
Versions: All versions up to and including 6.0-1
Operating Systems: Linux
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Affects LinuxKI installations with default configurations. The tool must be running and network-accessible for exploitation.

📦 What is this software?

Linuxki by Hp

View all CVEs affecting Linuxki →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise with root-level access, data exfiltration, lateral movement within the network, and persistent backdoor installation.

🟠

Likely Case

Remote code execution leading to unauthorized system access, data theft, and potential use as a foothold for further attacks.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper network segmentation, least privilege, and monitoring are in place, though exploitation could still occur.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH - The vulnerability allows remote exploitation without authentication, making internet-facing instances extremely vulnerable.
🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - Even internally, the vulnerability can be exploited by any network-accessible attacker, potentially leading to lateral movement.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes
Weaponized: CONFIRMED
Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes
Complexity: LOW

Multiple public exploit proofs exist, and the vulnerability is easily weaponized due to the simple command injection nature.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 6.0-2 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/HewlettPackard/LinuxKI/releases/tag/v6.0-2

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Stop LinuxKI service. 2. Backup configuration. 3. Download and install version 6.0-2 or later from official GitHub repository. 4. Restart LinuxKI service.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Access Restriction

linux

Restrict network access to LinuxKI service using firewall rules to only allow trusted sources.

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [LINUXKI_PORT] -s [TRUSTED_IP] -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport [LINUXKI_PORT] -j DROP

Service Disablement

linux

Temporarily disable LinuxKI service if not actively needed for diagnostics.

systemctl stop linuxki
systemctl disable linuxki

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement strict network segmentation to isolate LinuxKI instances from untrusted networks
  • Deploy application-level firewalls or WAF rules to block command injection patterns

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check LinuxKI version: 'linuxki --version' or examine package version. Versions 6.0-1 and earlier are vulnerable.

Check Version:

linuxki --version || rpm -q linuxki || dpkg -l | grep linuxki

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify version is 6.0-2 or later: 'linuxki --version' should show 6.0-2 or higher.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Unusual command execution in system logs
  • Suspicious process creation from LinuxKI service
  • Unexpected network connections from LinuxKI process

Network Indicators:

  • Unusual outbound connections from LinuxKI host
  • Command injection patterns in network traffic to LinuxKI port

SIEM Query:

process_name:"linuxki" AND (cmdline:*bash* OR cmdline:*sh* OR cmdline:*curl* OR cmdline:*wget*)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-7209
CVSS v3 Score: 9.8 (CRITICAL)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: February 13, 2020
Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

📤 Share & Export

📄 Export Markdown 📋 Export JSON