Fabric Operating SystemOperating system · Broadcom

CVE-2020-15372

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.4.2g / 8.1.2k or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
A vulnerability in the command-line interface in Brocade Fabric OS before Brocade Fabric OS v8.2.2a1, 8.2.2c, v7.4.2g, v8.2.0_CBN3, v8.2.1e, v8.1.2k, v9.0.0, could allow a local authenticated attacker to modify shell variables, which may lead to an escalation of privileges or bypassing the logging.

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 confidence

A local authenticated command-line interface vulnerability in Brocade Fabric OS versions prior to v8.2.2a1, 8.2.2c, v7.4.2g, v8.2.0_CBN3, v8.2.1e, v8.1.2k, and v9.0.0 allows authenticated users to modify shell variables, potentially enabling privilege escalation or logging bypass.

MitigationUpgrade Brocade Fabric OS to one of the fixed versions (v8.2.2a1, 8.2.2c, v7.4.2g, v8.2.0_CBN3, v8.2.1e, v8.1.2k, or v9.0.0). Review user access controls and monitor for unusual CLI activity as a compensating control.

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
Fabric Operating SystemOperating system
Affected:< 7.4.2g>= 8.0.0, < 8.1.2k>= 8.2.0, < 8.2.0_cbn3>= 8.2.1, < 8.2.1e>= 8.2.2, < 8.2.2a1>= 8.2.2b, < 8.2.2c

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine Fabric OS version
    Log into the Fabric OS CLI and run the command 'version' or 'firmwareShow' to display the current firmware version
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: < 7.4.2g, >= 8.0.0 and < 8.1.2k, >= 8.2.0 and < 8.2.0_cbn3, >= 8.2.1 and < 8.2.1e, >= 8.2.2 and < 8.2.2a1, or >= 8.2.2b and < 8.2.2c. Versions 9.0.0, 8.2.2c, 8.2.2a1, 8.2.1e, 8.2.0_cbn3, 8.1.2k, and 7.4.2g are NOT affected.
  2. Confirm authenticated CLI access exists
    Verify that user accounts with CLI login privileges exist on the system using 'userconfigshow' or by reviewing authentication configuration
    Affected if Any non-administrator or lower-privilege authenticated user can access the CLI, as the vulnerability allows shell variable modification by any authenticated user.
  3. Check for shell variable modification capability
    In the Fabric OS CLI, attempt to set a shell variable using vendor-specific CLI commands or examine if the environment allows modification of shell behavior through the CLI interface
    Affected if The CLI permits modification of shell variables or environment settings without proper restrictions, enabling the privilege escalation or logging bypass described in the CVE.

The system is affected if the installed Fabric OS version is lower than the fixed versions AND authenticated CLI users have the ability to modify shell variables or CLI behavior.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.4.2g / 8.1.2k / 8.2.0_cbn3 or later
Fixed in 7.4.2g8.1.2k8.2.0_cbn3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Brocade Fabric OS to one of the fixed versions (v8.2.2a1, 8.2.2c, v7.4.2g, v8.2.0_CBN3, v8.2.1e, v8.1.2k, or v9.0.0). Review user access controls and monitor for unusual CLI activity as a compensating control.

Fix this in Fabric Operating System Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15372 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-15372 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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