CVE-2020-12487
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 · uneditedDue to the flaws in the verification of input parameters, the attacker can input carefully constructed commands to make the ABE service execute some commands with root privilege.
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 confidenceThis is a command injection vulnerability in the ABE service where improper input validation allows attackers to inject malicious commands that execute with root privileges. The flaw bypasses normal authorization controls by manipulating input parameters that are not properly sanitized before being passed to system calls.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/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 if ABE service is presentCheck running processes or installed services for an ABE (Abu Dhabi eGovernment) or similar ABE service daemon. Use commands like 'ps aux | grep -i abe' or review installed service listings.Affected if ABE service is running or installed on the system
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Verify ABE service privilege levelCheck the user context the ABE service runs as. Use 'ps aux | grep [a]be' or check service configuration files to determine the effective UID.Affected if ABE service runs as root or elevated privileges (UID 0)
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Examine input handling in ABE configurationReview ABE service configuration files and look for parameters that accept user input and are passed to system calls or shell commands without apparent sanitization.Affected if Configuration shows user-supplied parameters being passed directly to system execution functions
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Check for unauthenticated input entry pointsIdentify interfaces (web APIs, CLI parameters, config inputs) where external input reaches the ABE service. Audit authentication and authorization settings on these entry points.Affected if Unauthenticated or improperly authorized input paths exist that feed into system call execution
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Audit system call usage in ABE service logsReview ABE service logs for command execution patterns. Look for evidence of shell metacharacters or unexpected command structures in executed commands.Affected if Logs show commands with unsanitized input patterns or shell injection indicators
If the ABE service is present, runs as root, and accepts user input that flows to system calls without validation, the environment is likely affected by this command injection vulnerability.
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 dataImplement strict input validation and sanitization for all user-supplied parameters, and apply the principle of least privilege by running the ABE service with minimal required permissions rather than root.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12487 — 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-2020-12487 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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