CVE-2020-27185
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 · uneditedCleartext transmission of sensitive information via Moxa Service in NPort IA5000A series serial devices. Successfully exploiting the vulnerability could enable attackers to read authentication data, device configuration, and other sensitive data transmitted over Moxa Service.
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 confidenceThe Moxa Service in NPort IA5000A series serial devices transmits authentication data, device configuration, and other sensitive information in cleartext (unencrypted). Network-adjacent attackers can intercept this traffic to steal credentials and configuration data.
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<= 1.4<= 1.4<= 1.7CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the NPort IA5000A device modelAccess the device web interface or check the physical device label to confirm the model number is one of: NPort IA5150A, IA5250A, or IA5450AAffected if Device model is NPort IA5150A, IA5250A, or IA5450A
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Check the installed firmware versionLog into the device web interface and navigate to System Settings > Firmware Version, or use the Moxa NPort Administrator tool to query the device firmware versionAffected if Firmware version is 1.4 or lower for IA5150A/IA5250A, or 1.7 or lower for IA5450A
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Verify if encrypted communication is disabled for Moxa ServiceAccess the device web interface and check the Moxa Service settings under Serial Settings > Communication Parameters. Look for encryption settings (TLS/SSL) and confirm whether encryption is enabled or disabledAffected if Moxa Service is configured to use unencrypted (cleartext) communication - the encryption option is disabled or not selected
A user is affected if they have an NPort IA5150A/IA5250A device with firmware 1.4 or lower (or IA5450A with firmware 1.7 or lower) AND the Moxa Service is configured to transmit data without encryption enabled.
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.
From vendor dataEnable encrypted communication (TLS/SSL) for Moxa Service, or route traffic through an encrypted VPN tunnel. If available, apply vendor firmware updates that address this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27185 — 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-2020-27185 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data