CVE-2020-37052
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 · uneditedAirControl 1.4.2 contains a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary system commands through malicious Java expression injection. Attackers can exploit the /.seam endpoint by crafting a specially constructed URL with embedded Java expressions to run commands with the application's system privileges.
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 confidenceAirControl 1.4.2 has a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability where attackers can inject malicious Java expressions through the /.seam endpoint to execute arbitrary system commands with the application's system privileges.
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 AirControl is installedCheck for AirControl installation by looking for the aircontrol process (Windows: tasklist | findstr -i aircontrol; Linux: ps aux | grep -i aircontrol) or the installation directory (common paths: C:\Ubiquiti\AirControl on Windows, /opt/aircontrol or /usr/local/aircontrol on Linux).Affected if AirControl process or installation directory exists on the system
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Determine the installed AirControl versionAccess the AirControl web interface login page and look for version information in the page footer, or check the application's about/help section. Alternatively, examine the installer file or check the application manifest/config files in the installation directory.Affected if The installed version is 1.4.2 (exact match) or falls within an unpatched version range for this CVE
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Verify if the /.seam endpoint is network accessibleFrom an external host or internally, attempt to access the /.seam endpoint via HTTP/HTTPS (e.g., curl http://TARGET_HOST/.seam or navigate to the URL in a browser). A response (even an error page) indicates the endpoint is reachable.Affected if The /.seam endpoint returns any HTTP response (not connection refused/timeout), indicating it is exposed and accepting requests
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Check if the application runs with elevated system privilegesExamine the service configuration (Windows: services.msc > AirControl service > Properties > Log On; Linux: check init/systemd service configuration for the user/account running AirControl). The summary indicates commands execute with application system privileges.Affected if The AirControl service/process runs under a privileged account (SYSTEM, Administrator, or root) rather than a limited service account
A user is affected if AirControl version 1.4.2 is installed, the /.seam endpoint is network-accessible, and the application runs with elevated system privileges, allowing unauthenticated remote command execution.
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 dataApply available patches or upgrade to a patched version of AirControl; if no patch exists, implement network segmentation and restrict access to the /.seam endpoint as compensating controls.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-37052 — 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-2020-37052 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
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