CVE-2020-13637
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 in the stashcat app through 3.9.2 for macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and possibly other platforms. It stores the client_key, the device_id, and the public key for end-to-end encryption in cleartext, enabling an attacker (by copying or having access to the local storage database file) to login to the system from any other computer, and get unlimited access to all data in the users's context.
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 stashcat messaging app through version 3.9.2 stores sensitive authentication and encryption credentials (client_key, device_id, and E2E public key) in cleartext within local storage databases. An attacker with access to the device or its database file can extract these plaintext credentials and use them to authenticate as the victim from any device, achieving full unauthorized access to all of the user's data.
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<= 3.9.2CVSS 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
- 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 if Heinekingmedia Stashcat is installedCheck installed applications on the device for 'Stashcat' or 'Heinekingmedia Stashcat' and note the installed version numberAffected if Stashcat version 3.9.2 or lower is installed on the device
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Locate Stashcat local storage databasesAccess the application data directory for Stashcat (typically found in app-specific internal storage under /data/data/[package_name]/databases/ or equivalent platform-specific path)Affected if Database files associated with Stashcat exist on the device
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Examine database contents for plaintext credentialsOpen the SQLite database files using a database viewer and inspect tables for the fields: client_key, device_id, and E2E_public_key. Verify if these fields contain unencrypted plaintext values rather than encrypted or hashed dataAffected if The client_key, device_id, or E2E public key fields in the Stashcat database contain readable plaintext strings
If Stashcat version 3.9.2 or lower is installed and its local database contains unencrypted (plaintext) credentials for client_key, device_id, or E2E public key, the environment is affected by this CVE.
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 dataReplace cleartext credential storage with platform-native secure storage mechanisms (Keychain on macOS/iOS, Credential Manager on Windows, Keystore on Android) and implement device-bound authentication that prevents credential reuse across devices.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation20.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13637 — 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-2020-13637 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data