CVE-2020-5808
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 · uneditedIn certain scenarios in Tenable.sc prior to 5.17.0, a scanner could potentially be used outside the user's defined scan zone without a particular zone being specified within the Automatic Distribution configuration.
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 confidenceIn Tenable Security Center prior to version 5.17.0, the Automatic Distribution feature allows scans to be distributed across multiple scanners. However, when no specific zone is defined in the configuration, scanners can potentially be used outside their assigned scan zones, allowing unauthorized network segments to be scanned.
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< 5.17.0CVSS 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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Determine Tenable.sc versionLog into the Tenable.sc web interface and navigate to System > About, or check the version displayed in the footer of the interface to confirm the installed version.Affected if The installed version is lower than 5.17.0 (for example, 5.16.0, 5.15.0, etc.).
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Identify scans using Automatic DistributionIn the Tenable.sc web interface, go to Scans > All Scans and review scan policies. Look for scan configurations where the Distribution option or Automatic Distribution setting is enabled.Affected if Any scan policy has Automatic Distribution enabled without a defined zone.
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Verify zone assignments in scan policiesOpen each scan policy with Automatic Distribution enabled and inspect the Zone or Distribution Zone setting. Check whether an explicit scan zone is specified in the configuration.Affected if A scan policy has Automatic Distribution enabled but shows no specific zone selected or the zone field is empty/undefined.
A user is affected if they run Tenable.sc version below 5.17.0 AND have scans with Automatic Distribution enabled that lack an explicit zone specification, allowing scanners to scan beyond their assigned zones.
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 data5.17.0
Upgrade Tenable.sc to version 5.17.0 or later. As a compensating control, ensure explicit zone specifications are configured in scan policies to prevent automatic distribution to unauthorized zones.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5808 — 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-2020-5808 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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