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Classic Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-120

CVE-2020-37010

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable 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
BearShare Lite 5.2.5 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability in the Advanced Search keywords input that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. Attackers can craft a specially designed payload to overwrite the EIP register and execute shellcode by pasting malicious content into the search keywords field.

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 · moderate confidence

BearShare Lite 5.2.5 contains a stack-based buffer overflow in the Advanced Search functionality. The application fails to properly validate the length of user input in the keywords search field, allowing an attacker to overflow the buffer, overwrite the EIP register, and execute arbitrary shellcode.

MitigationDiscontinue use of BearShare Lite and migrate to a supported alternative, as this is legacy software. If continued use is required, implement strict input length validation and bounds checking in the search keyword processing code.

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify BearShare Lite installation
    Check for BearShare Lite installation by searching for the executable: look for 'BearShare.exe' in common program directories (C:\Program Files\BearShare or C:\Program Files (x86)\BearShare), or check Add/Remove Programs for BearShare Lite entry
    Affected if BearShare Lite version 5.2.5 is installed on the system
  2. Confirm installed version number
    Right-click on BearShare.exe, select Properties, then look at the Version tab to confirm the exact version, or use command: wmic product where "name like 'BearShare%'" get version
    Affected if Version displayed is 5.2.5 exactly, as this is the specific affected version
  3. Locate the Advanced Search module
    Launch BearShare Lite and navigate to the Advanced Search feature - typically found under Search or File menu, or accessible via toolbar button with search icon
    Affected if The Advanced Search functionality is accessible and contains a keywords input field that accepts arbitrary text input
  4. Check for existing exploitation indicators
    Review application logs (look in BearShare installation directory for .log files) for unusual patterns, check for unexpected DLL injection, or examine running processes for suspicious shellcode patterns using process monitoring tools
    Affected if Logs show crash dumps, memory corruption errors related to search functionality, or unexpected network connections from the BearShare process

You are affected if BearShare Lite version 5.2.5 is installed and the Advanced Search feature with its keywords field is accessible or has been used on your system.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Discontinue use of BearShare Lite and migrate to a supported alternative, as this is legacy software. If continued use is required, implement strict input length validation and bounds checking in the search keyword processing code.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Discontinue use of BearShare Lite 5.2.5 immediately as it contains a critical buffer overflow vulnerability (CVE-2020-37010, CVSS 9.8).
  2. 2. Remove BearShare Lite 5.2.5 from all systems to eliminate the attack vector.
  3. 3. Identify and deploy an actively maintained alternative P2P file-sharing application from trusted sources.
  4. 4. Monitor vendor websites (www.bearshareofficial.com) and vulnerability databases for any future security updates, though none are currently known.
Caveat BearShare Lite is discontinued software with no available patches or updates; replacement with an actively maintained alternative is required.

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2020-37010 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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