dbcve.org
FedoraOperating system · Fedoraproject

CVE-2020-26555

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.2 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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
Bluetooth legacy BR/EDR PIN code pairing in Bluetooth Core Specification 1.0B through 5.2 may permit an unauthenticated nearby device to spoof the BD_ADDR of the peer device to complete pairing without knowledge of the PIN.

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

This vulnerability affects Bluetooth legacy BR/EDR PIN code pairing in Bluetooth Core Specification versions 1.0B through 5.2. An unauthenticated nearby attacker can spoof the BD_ADDR (Bluetooth device address) of a legitimate peer device during the pairing process, allowing them to complete pairing without knowledge of the PIN code.

MitigationDisable legacy PIN code pairing on affected devices and enforce Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) or LE Secure Connections with authentication. Consider firmware updates from device vendors that remove deprecated pairing methods.

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
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 34
Bluetooth Core SpecificationApplication
Affected:>= 1.1b, <= 5.2
Ax210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ax201 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ax200 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ac 9560 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ac 9462 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ac 9461 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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. Verify Bluetooth is enabled and in legacy BR/EDR mode
    On Linux, run 'hciconfig -a' to list Bluetooth adapters and check their configuration. Look for 'BR/EDR' mode and whether the device is 'UP' and 'RUNNING'. On Windows, check Device Manager under Bluetooth radios.
    Affected if Bluetooth adapter is active in BR/EDR mode (Classic Bluetooth)
  2. Confirm legacy PIN code pairing is available
    On Linux, check 'hciconfig' output for 'AUTH' and 'ENCRYPT' flags. Review Bluetooth configuration files in /etc/bluetooth/ for pairing agent settings. Run 'bluetoothctl show' to check pairing capabilities. On Windows, check Bluetooth settings for 'Legacy pairing' or 'PIN' options.
    Affected if Legacy PIN code authentication method is enabled or available on the Bluetooth stack
  3. Check Bluetooth Core Specification version in use
    On Linux, run 'hciconfig -a' and look for 'HCI Version' in the output. The version number corresponds to Core Spec versions (e.g., 5.0 = Core Spec 5.0). Compare against the affected range 1.1b through 5.2.
    Affected if HCI Version shown is between 1.1b and 5.2 (values approximately 1 through 10 in hcitool output)
  4. Identify Intel wireless adapter firmware version
    On Linux, run 'lspci | grep -i intel' to find the wireless adapter, then use vendor tools or 'btmgmt info' if available. On Windows, check Device Manager under Network adapters, right-click the Intel Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapter, select Properties, then look for Firmware version on the Details tab.
    Affected if Firmware version matches Intel Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC 9560, AC 9462, or AC 9461 (all versions affected)
  5. Check for Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) enforcement
    On Linux, examine /etc/bluetooth/main.conf for 'SecureSimplePairing' setting. Run 'hciconfig' to check if SSP is enabled. Verify 'IO Capability' settings in bluetoothd configuration restrict legacy pairing.
    Affected if Secure Simple Pairing is not enforced and legacy PIN pairing remains as an option

Your environment is affected if Bluetooth BR/EDR is active with legacy PIN code pairing enabled on a stack implementation following Core Spec 1.1b-5.2, or on any of the listed Intel wireless adapter firmware versions.

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 a release after 5.2
Interim mitigation

Disable legacy PIN code pairing on affected devices and enforce Secure Simple Pairing (SSP) or LE Secure Connections with authentication. Consider firmware updates from device vendors that remove deprecated pairing methods.

Fix this in Fedora Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-26555 — 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-2020-26555 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