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Nagios XiApplication · Nagios

CVE-2020-36868

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.7.3 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Nagios XI versions prior to 5.7.3 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in the getprofile.sh helper script. The script performed profile retrieval and initialization routines using insecure file/command handling and insufficient validation of attacker-controlled inputs, and in some deployments executed with elevated privileges. A local attacker with low-level access could exploit these weaknesses to cause the script to execute arbitrary commands or modify privileged files, resulting in privilege escalation.

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

Nagios XI versions prior to 5.7.3 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the getprofile.sh helper script. The script uses insecure file and command handling with insufficient validation of attacker-controlled inputs during profile retrieval and initialization routines. A local attacker with low-level access can exploit this to execute arbitrary commands or modify privileged files, resulting in elevation to root privileges.

MitigationUpgrade to Nagios XI version 5.7.3 or later to obtain the patched getprofile.sh script with proper input validation and secure command handling. Review and audit any existing modifications to helper scripts.

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
Nagios XiApplication
Affected:< 5.7.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Confirm Nagios XI installation
    Check if Nagios XI is installed by looking for typical installation directories such as /usr/local/nagiosxi, /opt/nagiosxi, or by running 'ls -la /usr/local/' and searching for nagiosxi directories.
    Affected if Nagios XI is installed in any location on the system.
  2. Identify installed Nagios XI version
    Run the command 'cat /usr/local/nagiosxi/etc/version.ini' or check the version file in your specific Nagios XI installation directory. Alternatively, look for a version file in /opt/nagiosxi/etc/ or within your installation path.
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.7.3 (for example, 5.7.2, 5.7.1, 5.6.x, etc.).
  3. Locate the getprofile.sh script
    Search for the script using 'find / -name getprofile.sh 2>/dev/null' or check common paths like /usr/local/nagiosxi/scripts/getprofile.sh, /opt/nagiosxi/scripts/getprofile.sh, or within the installation directory under scripts/.
    Affected if The getprofile.sh script exists on the system.
  4. Check script file permissions
    Run 'ls -la <path_to_getprofile.sh>' to examine ownership and permissions. Verify if the script is owned by root and check write permissions for other users.
    Affected if The script is writable by non-root users or has weak permissions that allow low-privilege user modification.

A system is affected if Nagios XI is installed with a version prior to 5.7.3 and the getprofile.sh script is present with weak permissions allowing low-privilege access.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.7.3 or later
Fixed in 5.7.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Nagios XI version 5.7.3 or later to obtain the patched getprofile.sh script with proper input validation and secure command handling. Review and audit any existing modifications to helper scripts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Nagios XI 5.7.3

  1. Back up the current Nagios XI installation including configuration files and database
  2. Download Nagios XI version 5.7.3 or later from the official Nagios website (www.nagios.com)
  3. Run the official Nagios XI upgrade script or installer following vendor documentation
  4. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the Nagios XI web interface
  5. Confirm the getprofile.sh script has been updated to version 5.7.3 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Nagios Xi Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,820
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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-2020-36868 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