CVE-2015-6020
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedZyXEL PMG5318-B20A devices with firmware 1.00AANC0b5 allow remote authenticated users to obtain administrative privileges by leveraging access to the user account.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThe ZyXEL PMG5318-B20A router with firmware 1.00AANC0b5 contains an authorization flaw that allows authenticated standard users to escalate their privileges to administrator level. A remote attacker with valid user credentials can leverage this vulnerability to gain full administrative control over the device.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= v100aanc0b5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the device modelAccess the router web interface or check the device label to confirm the exact model number is PMG5318-B20AAffected if Device is not a ZyXEL PMG5318-B20A model, then not affected
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Check the installed firmware versionLog into the router admin interface and navigate to Status or System Info page to view the firmware version. Compare against 1.00AANC0b5Affected if Firmware version is 1.00AANC0b5 exactly, then affected; other versions are not affected by this specific CVE
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Determine if remote administrative access is enabledIn the router admin interface, check the Remote Management or Access Control settings to see if remote HTTP/HTTPS administration is enabledAffected if Remote management is enabled and the device is exposed to untrusted networks, then the vulnerability is remotely exploitable
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Verify if standard non-admin user accounts existIn the router admin interface, check the User Account or Administrator settings to see if there are standard user accounts configured alongside admin accountsAffected if Standard user accounts exist alongside administrator accounts, then privilege escalation from those accounts is possible
A user is affected only if they have the PMG5318-B20A device with firmware version 1.00AANC0b5 AND have remote management enabled with at least one standard user account configured.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the latest firmware update from ZyXEL. If no update is available, disable remote administrative access and limit device management to trusted networks or IP ranges.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,304.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-6020 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-6020 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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