CVE-2020-11733
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered on Spirent TestCenter and Avalanche appliance admin interface firmware. An attacker, who already has access to an SSH restricted shell, can achieve root access via shell metacharacters. The attacker can then, for example, read sensitive files such as appliance admin configuration source code. This affects Spirent TestCenter and Avalanche products which chassis version <= 5.08. The SSH restricted shell is available with default credentials.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability exists in the SSH restricted shell of Spirent TestCenter and Avalanche appliances (firmware versions <= 5.08). An attacker with low-privilege SSH access using default credentials can escape the restricted shell by injecting shell metacharacters, achieving root privileges. This allows unauthorized access to sensitive files including admin configuration source code.
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<= 5.08<= 5.08CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 Spirent appliance model and firmware versionAccess the appliance admin console or run 'show system info' via console/SSH. Check the firmware version displayed.Affected if Firmware version is 5.08 or lower (e.g., 5.08, 5.07, 5.06, etc.)
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Verify SSH service is enabledCheck if the SSH daemon is running: execute 'ps | grep sshd' or review the appliance network services configuration.Affected if SSH service is exposed and accessible from network
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Confirm default credentials are still activeAttempt to authenticate via SSH using the default username/password combination for Spirent appliances (consult appliance documentation for factory defaults). Also check account configuration files for unchanged default accounts.Affected if Default SSH credentials are still configured and functional
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Check for restricted shell configurationReview /etc/passwd or equivalent user configuration for accounts used during SSH access. Look for restricted or chrooted shell entries (e.g., /bin/rbash, /usr/sbin/secsh).Affected if SSH user accounts are configured with a restricted shell that can be escaped via shell metacharacters
The environment is affected if you are running Spirent TestCenter or Avalanche firmware version 5.08 or lower with SSH accessible using default credentials, allowing an attacker to escape the restricted shell and gain root access.
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 dataImmediately change default credentials to prevent initial access. Upgrade appliance firmware to a version greater than 5.08. If immediate upgrade is not possible, implement network-level access controls to restrict SSH access to trusted sources only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11733 — 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-2020-11733 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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