ArubaosOperating system · Arubanetworks

CVE-2020-24637

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-12-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1.0.2 / 2.2.0.1 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Two vulnerabilities in ArubaOS GRUB2 implementation allows for an attacker to bypass secureboot. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability this could lead to remote compromise of system integrity by allowing an attacker to load an untrusted or modified kernel in Aruba 9000 Gateway; Aruba 7000 Series Mobility Controllers; Aruba 7200 Series Mobility Controllers version(s): 2.1.0.1, 2.2.0.0 and below; 6.4.4.23, 6.5.4.17, 8.2.2.9, 8.3.0.13, 8.5.0.10, 8.6.0.5, 8.7.0.0 and below ; 6.4.4.23, 6.5.4.17, 8.2.2.9, 8.3.0.13, 8.5.0.10, 8.6.0.5, 8.7.0.0 and below.

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 confidence

Two vulnerabilities in ArubaOS GRUB2 bootloader implementation allow attackers to bypass secureboot verification, enabling loading of untrusted or modified kernels. This compromises system integrity at the boot level, giving attackers persistent control over affected mobility controllers and gateways.

MitigationApply Aruba-provided patches for the specific affected versions (6.4.4.23+, 6.5.4.17+, 8.2.2.9+, 8.3.0.13+, 8.5.0.10+, 8.6.0.5+, 8.7.0.0+). Verify secureboot remains enabled post-patch and monitor for unauthorized bootloader modifications.

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
ArubaosOperating system
Affected:< 8.5.0.11>= 8.6.0.0, < 8.6.0.6>= 8.7.0.0, < 8.7.1.0
Sd WanApplication
Affected:< 2.1.0.2>= 2.2.0.0, < 2.2.0.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed ArubaOS version
    Execute 'show version' or 'show boot-image' in the device CLI to retrieve the active OS version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within < 8.5.0.11, OR >= 8.6.0.0 and < 8.6.0.6, OR >= 8.7.0.0 and < 8.7.1.0
  2. Identify installed SD-WAN version
    Execute 'show version' or similar command in the SD-WAN appliance CLI to retrieve the software version
    Affected if The displayed version falls within < 2.1.0.2, OR >= 2.2.0.0 and < 2.2.0.1
  3. Verify secureboot status
    Execute 'show secureboot status' or 'show boot-config' in the device CLI to check if secureboot is currently enabled
    Affected if Secureboot is disabled or shows a bypass state (the vulnerability allows bypass when enabled, but is exploitable regardless of its state)
  4. Inspect bootloader integrity
    Compare the hash or signature of the GRUB2 bootloader files against known-good values from Aruba documentation, or run 'show boot-parameters' to list loaded bootloader configuration
    Affected if Bootloader files show unexpected modifications, unsigned entries, or unknown boot menu entries are present

A device is affected if it runs any ArubaOS version in the ranges (< 8.5.0.11, 8.6.0.0-8.6.0.5, or 8.7.0.0-8.7.0.9) or any SD-WAN version in the ranges (< 2.1.0.2 or 2.2.0.0-2.2.0.0) AND has GRUB2 bootloader with secureboot present in the system.

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 2.1.0.2 / 2.2.0.1 / 8.5.0.11 or later
Fixed in 2.1.0.22.2.0.18.5.0.11
Interim mitigation

Apply Aruba-provided patches for the specific affected versions (6.4.4.23+, 6.5.4.17+, 8.2.2.9+, 8.3.0.13+, 8.5.0.10+, 8.6.0.5+, 8.7.0.0+). Verify secureboot remains enabled post-patch and monitor for unauthorized bootloader modifications.

Fix this in Arubaos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,340
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-24637 — 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-2020-24637 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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