CVE-2020-13595
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 (BLE) controller implementation in Espressif ESP-IDF 4.0 through 4.2 (for ESP32 devices) returns the wrong number of completed BLE packets and triggers a reachable assertion on the host stack when receiving a packet with an MIC failure. An attacker within radio range can silently trigger the assertion (which disables the target's BLE stack) by sending a crafted sequence of BLE packets.
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 BLE controller in Espressif ESP-IDF 4.0-4.2 for ESP32 returns an incorrect count of completed BLE packets when receiving packets with an MIC (Message Integrity Code) failure. This triggers a reachable assertion in the host stack that crashes the BLE subsystem. An attacker within radio range can silently cause a denial of service by sending a crafted sequence of BLE packets with MIC failures, permanently disabling BLE until a reboot.
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>= 4.0.0, <= 4.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Confirm ESP32 hardware is in useIdentify the target device model via hardware markings, bootloader output, or by querying the chip via esptool.py using the command: python esptool.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0 chip_idAffected if The device is not an ESP32 (the vulnerability only affects ESP32, not other Espressif chips)
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Determine the ESP-IDF version used to build the firmwareCheck the firmware build metadata, release notes, or binary metadata for the ESP-IDF version. This information may be embedded in the firmware image header or obtainable via: python esptool.py --port /dev/ttyUSB0 flash_id, or by inspecting the firmware binary strings for version indicators like 'esp-idf v4.0', 'esp-idf v4.1', or 'esp-idf v4.2'Affected if The ESP-IDF version is 4.0.0, 4.1.x, or 4.2 (any version from 4.0.0 through 4.2 inclusive)
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Verify BLE functionality is enabled in the firmwareInspect the compiled firmware configuration (sdkconfig) or check if BLE services are actively running on the device by examining BLE advertising or connection states via a BLE host tool or the device's runtime logsAffected if BLE is compiled into the firmware and actively used - the vulnerability is in the BLE controller and requires BLE to be enabled for exploitation
The device is affected if it is an ESP32 running firmware built with ESP-IDF versions 4.0.0 through 4.2 and has BLE functionality 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 dataUpdate ESP-IDF to a version beyond 4.2 that contains the fix for this vulnerability, then rebuild and redeploy firmware to affected ESP32 devices.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13595 — 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-2020-13595 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
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