CVE-2020-15504
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 · uneditedA SQL injection vulnerability in the user and admin web interfaces of Sophos XG Firewall v18.0 MR1 and older potentially allows an attacker to run arbitrary code remotely. The fix is built into the re-release of XG Firewall v18 MR-1 (named MR-1-Build396) and the v17.5 MR13 release. All other versions >= 17.0 have received a hotfix.
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 confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in the user and admin web interfaces of Sophos XG Firewall v18.0 MR1 and older. Attackers can exploit this to inject malicious SQL queries, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution on the affected system.
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>= 17.0, <= 17.5= 17.5= 18.0CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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Identify installed Sophos XG Firewall firmware versionAccess the firewall admin console or check system information via command line (e.g., 'version' command or System > Dashboard in the web interface). Note the exact firmware build number.Affected if The version is 17.0, 17.5, or 18.0 (any build within these major versions, including MR1 and older)
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Confirm web interface accessibilityVerify that the Sophos XG Firewall user or admin web interface (typically ports 443 or 4444) is reachable and enabled on the device.Affected if The web interface is exposed and reachable (this is required for the SQL injection to be exploitable)
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Determine if management interfaces are exposedCheck network configuration to see if the admin/user web interfaces are listening on external or internal interfaces, particularly if exposed to untrusted networks.Affected if The web management interface is externally accessible or accessible from less trusted network segments
You are affected if your Sophos XG Firewall is running firmware version 17.0 through 18.0 MR1 (inclusive), and the web interface is enabled and accessible.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Sophos XG Firewall v18 MR-1 Build396 or v17.5 MR13, or apply the provided hotfix for all versions >= 17.0. Given the critical CVSS score and potential for remote code execution, prioritize this patch immediately.
Sophos XG Firewall v18 MR-1-Build396 or v17.5 MR13 (depending on current major version)
- Identify the current Sophos XG Firewall firmware version via the admin web console or CLI (console > 4 > 1 to view version)
- For XG Firewall v18.0.x: Download and install firmware MR-1-Build396 or later from the Sophos download portal
- For XG Firewall v17.5.x: Download and install firmware MR13 or later from the Sophos download portal
- For other versions >= 17.0: Apply the hotfix provided by Sophos support (contact support if hotfix access is needed)
- After upgrade/hotfix, verify the version is correct and confirm the web interfaces (user and admin) are accessible
- Test that SQL injection vulnerability is no longer present using authorized scanning tools
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15504 — 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-2020-15504 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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