MEDIUM CVSS 5.2
Published: 2020-12-16

CVE-2020-26273

linuxfoundation osquery Security Advisory (CVE-2020-26273)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2020-26273 impacting linuxfoundation osquery. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 5.2 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
osquery is a SQL powered operating system instrumentation, monitoring, and analytics framework. In osquery before version 4.6.0, by using sqlite's ATTACH verb, someone with administrative access to osquery can cause reads and writes to arbitrary sqlite databases on disk. This _does_ allow arbitrary files to be created, but they will be sqlite databases. It does not appear to allow existing non-sqlite files to be overwritten. This has been patched in osquery 4.6.0. There are several mitigating factors and possible workarounds. In some deployments, the people with access to these interfaces may be considered administrators. In some deployments, configuration is managed by a central tool. This tool can filter for the `ATTACH` keyword. osquery can be run as non-root user. Because this also limits the desired access levels, this requires deployment specific testing and configuration.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
Low (PR:L)
Standard user access required
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Changed (S:C)
Impacts components beyond caller authority
Confidentiality
Low (C:L)
Partial information leakage
Integrity
Low (I:L)
Partial data modification possible
Availability
None (A:N)
No system availability impact

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product linuxfoundation / osquery
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-77

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2020-26273 impacting linuxfoundation osquery.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2020-26273.yaml
id: cve-2020-26273

info:
  name: linuxfoundation osquery - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2020-26273 affecting linuxfoundation osquery.
    Evaluation: osquery is a SQL powered operating system instrumentation, monitoring, and analytics framework. In osquery before version 4.6.0, by using sqlite'...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2020-26273
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
    cvss-score: 5.2
    cve-id: CVE-2020-26273
    cwe-id: CWE-77
  tags: cve,cve-2020-26273,linuxfoundation,osquery,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "osquery"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2020-26273.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2020-26273
# Target: linuxfoundation osquery | CVSS: 5.2 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2020-26273 (linuxfoundation osquery)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against linuxfoundation osquery scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2020-26273.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2020-26273
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install osquery 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade osquery 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update osquery

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i osquery 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i osquery

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2020-26273 in linuxfoundation osquery?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update linuxfoundation osquery packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2020-26273?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2020-26273?

CVE-2020-26273 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 5.2 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
5.2
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2020-26273
Weakness CWE-77
Vendor linuxfoundation
Product osquery
Published 2020-12-16
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N