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Micro Air Vehicle LinkApplication · Dronecode

CVE-2020-10282

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Micro Air Vehicle Link (MAVLink) protocol presents no authentication mechanism on its version 1.0 (nor authorization) whichs leads to a variety of attacks including identity spoofing, unauthorized access, PITM attacks and more. According to literature, version 2.0 optionally allows for package signing which mitigates this flaw. Another source mentions that MAVLink 2.0 only provides a simple authentication system based on HMAC. This implies that the flying system overall should add the same symmetric key into all devices of network. If not the case, this may cause a security issue, that if one of the devices and its symmetric key are compromised, the whole authentication system is not reliable.

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 · high confidence

MAVLink 1.0 protocol lacks any authentication or authorization mechanism, enabling identity spoofing, unauthorized command injection, and man-in-the-middle attacks on UAV communication links. MAVLink 2.0 provides optional HMAC-based packet signing but relies on a shared symmetric key across all network devices, creating a single point of failure where compromise of one device/key compromises the entire system's authentication.

MitigationUpgrade to MAVLink 2.0 with cryptographic authentication enabled; implement robust key management and distribution practices; network-segment the MAVLink communication from untrusted networks; consider additional application-layer authentication for safety-critical operations.

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
Micro Air Vehicle LinkApplication
Affected:= 1.0.0

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed MAVLink library version
    Check your project's dependency list, package manager, or source code for the Dronecode MAVLink library version number. Common locations: package.json, requirements.txt, vendor directory, or CMakeLists.txt
    Affected if The version is exactly 1.0.0 ( Dronecode Micro Air Vehicle Link )
  2. Verify the MAVLink protocol version in use
    Inspect your drone communication code or configuration files to determine whether the system is using MAVLink protocol version 1.0 or 2.0. Look for protocol version constants, headers (e.g., MAVLINK_VERSION), or runtime protocol negotiation logs
    Affected if The system explicitly uses MAVLink 1.0 protocol for UAV communications
  3. Check if HMAC packet signing is enabled
    Examine your MAVLink configuration files or source code for MAVLink 2.0 signing settings. Look for MAVLINK_MAX_PAYLOAD_LEN, MAVLINK_SIGNING_FLAG, or signing-related configuration structures
    Affected if HMAC-based packet signing is not enabled or not configured for MAVLink 2.0 communications
  4. Review the authentication key management setup
    Inspect your system for symmetric key configuration files, key storage mechanisms, or key distribution logs related to MAVLink authentication
    Affected if A single shared symmetric key is used across multiple network devices without additional authentication layers

You are affected if your system runs Dronecode MAVLink version 1.0.0, or uses MAVLink 1.0 protocol, or uses MAVLink 2.0 without enabled HMAC signing or with a single shared key across all devices.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to MAVLink 2.0 with cryptographic authentication enabled; implement robust key management and distribution practices; network-segment the MAVLink communication from untrusted networks; consider additional application-layer authentication for safety-critical operations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

MAVLink 2.0 or later (with packet signing enabled)

  1. Upgrade MAVLink library/implementation from version 1.0.0 to version 2.0 or later
  2. If using MAVLink 2.0, enable packet signing/encryption for authentication
  3. Implement a consistent symmetric key (HMAC) across all devices in the network
  4. Ensure all devices in the MAVLink network support and enforce authentication
  5. Verify that authentication is required and enforced for all MAVLink connections
  6. Rotate keys immediately if any device in the network is suspected to be compromised
Caveat MAVLink 2.0 is not backward compatible with 1.0; all devices on the network must be upgraded to 2.0 and configured consistently; legacy devices that only support 1.0 will no longer function

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Micro Air Vehicle Link Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing16.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,760
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-10282 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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