CVE-2020-37002
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 · uneditedAjenti 2.1.36 contains a post-authenticated remote command execution vulnerability that allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands after successful login. Attackers can leverage the /api/terminal/create endpoint to send a netcat reverse shell payload targeting a specified IP and port.
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 confidenceAjenti 2.1.36 has a post-authenticated remote command execution vulnerability in the /api/terminal/create API endpoint. After obtaining valid credentials, attackers can send a netcat reverse shell payload to execute arbitrary commands on the target system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Ajenti is installedCheck for Ajenti processes running (ps aux | grep ajenti) or check common installation paths like /opt/ajenti, /etc/ajenti, or look for the ajenti-panel serviceAffected if Ajenti is running as a service on the system
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Determine the installed Ajenti versionRun 'ajenti-panel --version' or check the version file in the installation directory (typically /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ajenti/version.py or similar). Alternatively, query the web interface login page for version information if accessible.Affected if The installed version matches 2.1.36 or falls within the affected range around this version
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Verify the /api/terminal/create endpoint is accessibleAttempt to access the API endpoint via curl or similar tool: curl -k https://<target>:8000/api/terminal/create (requires authentication). Check if the endpoint responds to OPTIONS or POST requests.Affected if The terminal create API endpoint responds and is not disabled or removed
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Confirm authentication is required for the APITry accessing the API endpoint without credentials and observe if a 401 Unauthorized or login redirect is returned. Check the Ajenti configuration file (usually /etc/ajenti/config.json) for authentication settings.Affected if The endpoint requires valid credentials but accepts authenticated requests, meaning any compromised valid user account could trigger the RCE
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Check for signs of exploitation attemptsReview Ajenti access logs (typically in /var/log/ajenti or within the web interface logs) for suspicious requests to /api/terminal/create, especially with unusual payloads, base64-encoded commands, or repeated POST requests from unexpected IP addresses.Affected if Log entries show requests to /api/terminal/create with suspicious command payloads or patterns indicative of reverse shell attempts
The system is affected if Ajenti version 2.1.36 is installed and the /api/terminal/create API endpoint is accessible, as an attacker with valid credentials could execute arbitrary commands.
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 dataUpgrade Ajenti to the latest patched version. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict network access to the admin interface and implement strong credential policies to prevent unauthorized access.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-37002 — 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-2020-37002 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
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