CVE-2020-11957
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 · uneditedThe Bluetooth Low Energy implementation in Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component versions before 3.64 generates a random number (Pairing Random) with significantly less entropy than the specified 128 bits during BLE pairing. This is the case for both authenticated and unauthenticated pairing with both LE Secure Connections as well as LE Legacy Pairing. A predictable or brute-forceable random number allows an attacker (in radio range) to perform a MITM attack during BLE pairing.
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 Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component versions before 3.64 generate the Pairing Random number with significantly less entropy than the required 128 bits during BLE pairing. This affects both LE Secure Connections and LE Legacy Pairing in authenticated and unauthenticated scenarios. The insufficient entropy makes the random number predictable or brute-forceable, enabling a man-in-the-middle attack by an attacker within radio range.
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< 3.64CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Cypress PSoC BLE component usageReview your project source code and confirm it uses the Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component for Bluetooth Low Energy communication. Check your project configuration files or component declarations for references to BLE stack or library files.Affected if Your firmware or application explicitly uses the Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component
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Locate the BLE component versionIn PSoC Creator, open the project and navigate to the Components tab orRight-click the BLE component in the TopDesign schematic and select ' datasheet' or 'version information'. Alternatively, check the component manifest file in your project directory for the BLE component version number.Affected if The BLE component version shown is below 3.64
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Verify project dependenciesCheck the project's cycomponentlibrary.xml or similar manifest file that lists all embedded component versions. Look for entries containing 'BLE' or 'bluetooth' and note the associated version field.Affected if The listed BLE component version is less than 3.64
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Confirm BLE pairing is enabledReview your BLE component configuration in PSoC Creator (typically in the BLE tab of the Design Wide Resources file). Verify that either LE Secure Connections or LE Legacy Pairing is enabled in the security settings.Affected if BLE pairing is enabled and the component version is below 3.64
You are affected if your project uses the Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component at a version lower than 3.64 and BLE pairing (either LE Secure Connections or LE Legacy) is enabled.
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 data3.64
Upgrade Cypress PSoC Creator BLE 4.2 component to version 3.64 or later to ensure proper 128-bit entropy in the Pairing Random number generation during BLE pairing.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,992.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11957 — 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-2020-11957 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
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