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ObserviumApplication

CVE-2020-25144

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 /apps/?app=../ URIs.

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 and local file inclusion vulnerability in the /apps/ endpoint. The app parameter accepts path traversal sequences (../) without proper validation, allowing attackers to load arbitrary .inc.php files from the filesystem. Since the file inclusion is unrestricted and not limited to a safe whitelist, this can be chained with maliciously crafted files to achieve remote code execution.

MitigationImplement strict input validation on the app parameter to restrict file inclusions to an explicit whitelist of allowed files, or normalize and verify the path to prevent directory traversal sequences. Additionally, disable PHP execution in upload directories and apply principle of least privilege to file system access.

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. Identify Observium installation location
    Search the system for Observium installation directories, typically under /opt/observium, /var/www/observium, or check web server document roots for observium folders.
    Affected if Observium is installed and accessible via web server
  2. Determine installed Observium version
    Check the version file or examine the HTML source of the login page for the version string. Common locations: includes/defaults/version.inc.php or the footer of the web interface.
    Affected if Installed version is 20.8.10631 or earlier
  3. Verify /apps/ endpoint is accessible
    Send a request to the /apps/ endpoint on the Observium web server (e.g., curl http://[host]/apps/) and confirm the application responds without being blocked by authentication or network filters.
    Affected if The /apps/ endpoint is reachable over the network without authentication requirements
  4. Test for path traversal vulnerability
    Send a crafted request to /apps/ with a path traversal payload such as /apps/?app=../../etc/passwd or /apps/?app=../../includes/defaults/config to observe if arbitrary files can be retrieved.
    Affected if The application returns contents of files outside the intended directory, confirming the LFI flaw
  5. Check PHP execution settings in upload directories
    Examine PHP configuration files (php.ini, .htaccess) for restrictions on script execution in directories where users can upload files.
    Affected if PHP execution is not disabled in upload-accessible directories, allowing potential RCE chaining

If Observium version 20.8.10631 or earlier is installed with the /apps/ endpoint exposed and responding to path traversal requests, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 app parameter to restrict file inclusions to an explicit whitelist of allowed files, or normalize and verify the path to prevent directory traversal sequences. Additionally, disable PHP execution in upload directories and apply principle of least privilege to file system access.

Fix this in Observium Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2020-25144 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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