dbcve.org
ObserviumApplication

CVE-2020-25133

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An issue was discovered in Observium Professional, Enterprise & Community 20.8.10631. It is vulnerable to directory traversal and local file inclusion due to the fact that there is an unrestricted possibility of loading any file with an inc.php extension. Inclusion of other files (even though limited to the mentioned extension) can lead to Remote Code Execution. This can occur via /ports/?format=../ URIs to pages/ports.inc.php.

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

Observium versions prior to the fix contain a directory traversal vulnerability via the format parameter in the /ports/ endpoint. An attacker can use '../' sequences to access arbitrary .inc.php files outside the intended directory, leading to local file inclusion and potentially remote code execution.

MitigationImplement strict input validation on the format parameter to reject directory traversal sequences ('../'). Alternatively, implement allowlisting of permitted files and restrict the inclusion path to a safe base directory.

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
ObserviumApplication
Affected:= 20.8.10631

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Determine installed Observium version
    Locate the version file or admin interface that displays the Observium version number. Common locations include the footer of the web UI, a version.php file in the installation directory, or the output of 'SELECT version()' if using the database version tracker.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than the fixed version (the specific patched version released after 20.8.10631).
  2. Verify /ports/ endpoint is accessible
    Attempt to access the /ports/ endpoint on your Observium server using a web browser or curl command. This is typically found at paths like /ports/ or /ports/1/ depending on your installation.
    Affected if The endpoint returns a valid HTTP response (200 OK) rather than a 404 or access denied error, indicating the functionality is enabled.
  3. Check format parameter for directory traversal
    Send a request to the /ports/ endpoint with a manipulated format parameter containing '../' sequences to traverse directories. For example: /ports/?format=../../../includes/defaults.inc.php or similar path patterns pointing to .inc.php files.
    Affected if The application returns contents of files outside the intended directory, or the error messages reveal that directory traversal is not being blocked.
  4. Inspect input validation on format parameter
    Examine the server-side code handling the /ports/ request, specifically looking for filtering or validation logic applied to the format parameter. Check if '../' sequences are being blocked or if the allowed file list is being enforced.
    Affected if No validation exists, or the validation can be bypassed by encoding or other techniques.

You are affected if your Observium version is prior to the patched release AND the /ports/ endpoint with the format parameter is accessible without proper directory traversal protection.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation on the format parameter to reject directory traversal sequences ('../'). Alternatively, implement allowlisting of permitted files and restrict the inclusion path to a safe base directory.

Fix this in Observium Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation5.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,310
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-25133 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2020-25133 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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