CVE-2020-12037
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 · uneditedBaxter PrismaFlex all versions, PrisMax all versions prior to 3.x, The affected devices do not implement data-in-transit encryption (e.g., TLS/SSL) when configured to send treatment data to a PDMS (Patient Data Management System) or an EMR (Electronic Medical Record) system. An attacker could observe sensitive data sent from the device.
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 confidenceBaxter PrismaFlex and PrisMax medical devices transmit treatment data to PDMS and EMR systems without encryption (no TLS/SSL). Sensitive patient treatment data is sent in plaintext across the network, allowing any attacker with network access to intercept and read confidential medical information.
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 dataall versions< 3.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 device model and firmware versionLocate the device label or access the device's administration interface to determine if it is a PrismaFlex or PrisMax unit, and record the installed firmware version.Affected if The device is a PrismaFlex (any version) or PrisMax with firmware version below 3.0.
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Confirm PDMS/EMR communication is enabledAccess the device configuration or network settings menu and verify if outbound connections to Patient Data Management System (PDMS) or Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems are configured and active.Affected if The device is configured to send treatment data to external PDMS or EMR systems.
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Verify TLS/SSL encryption status for outbound dataIn the device network or communication settings, check whether TLS/SSL or encryption is enabled for data transmissions to PDMS/EMR endpoints. If available, inspect the protocol settings for the data export function.Affected if TLS/SSL encryption is disabled or set to 'none' for PDMS/EMR communications, meaning data is transmitted in plaintext.
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Inspect network traffic for plaintext dataUse a network sniffer or capture tool on the network segment connected to the device. Observe outbound traffic destined for PDMS/EMR IP addresses and verify whether the data payload is encrypted (HTTPS, TLS) or clearly readable as plaintext medical data.Affected if Unencrypted, plaintext traffic containing patient treatment data is observed flowing from the device to PDMS/EMR systems.
A user is affected if they have a PrismaFlex (any version) or PrisMax (< 3.0) configured to transmit data to PDMS/EMR systems with TLS/SSL encryption disabled, resulting in plaintext patient data on the network.
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 data3.0
Enable TLS/SSL encryption for data-in-transit communications between the device and PDMS/EMR systems, or upgrade PrisMax to version 3.x or later. Implement network segmentation to limit exposure of unencrypted traffic.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12037 — 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-2020-12037 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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