CVE-2020-6974
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 · uneditedHoneywell Notifier Web Server (NWS) Version 3.50 is vulnerable to a path traversal attack, which allows an attacker to bypass access to restricted directories. Honeywell has released a firmware update to address the problem.
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 confidenceHoneywell Notifier Web Server (NWS) version 3.50 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to bypass access restrictions and access restricted directories by using directory traversal sequences (e.g., '../') in HTTP requests.
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<= 3.50CVSS 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 Honeywell NWS is installedLocate Honeywell Notifier Web Server in your environment - check for processes named 'NWS', 'Notifier', or related Honeywell services, and identify any web server processes listening on HTTP/HTTPS ports typically associated with this productAffected if Honeywell Notifier Web Server software is present and running in the environment
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Determine the installed NWS versionCheck the installed version of the Honeywell Notifier Web Server - this is typically accessible via the web interface about page, in the software installation directory, or through system inventory tools that track Honeywell softwareAffected if The installed version is 3.50 or any version lower than 3.50
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Verify web server network exposureDetermine whether the NWS web interface is network-accessible - check if the service binds to non-localhost interfaces, review firewall rules allowing external access to the web server ports, and assess whether the system is reachable from untrusted networksAffected if The NWS web interface is accessible from network locations beyond the local host or trusted internal segments
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Confirm path traversal is exploitableIf NWS is accessible, test for the path traversal vulnerability by sending HTTP requests with directory traversal sequences (such as ../) to access directories outside the web root - compare the response to expected behavior and check if access restrictions are bypassedAffected if Directory traversal sequences successfully bypass access controls and return content from restricted directories
The environment is affected by CVE-2020-6974 if Honeywell Notifier Web Server version 3.50 or below is installed and its web interface is network-accessible, allowing path traversal sequences to bypass access restrictions.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the firmware update released by Honeywell to address the path traversal vulnerability in NWS version 3.50.
Contact Honeywell for the specific fixed firmware version (the description indicates a firmware update was released but does not provide the version number)
- Contact Honeywell technical support to obtain the specific firmware version that addresses CVE-2020-6974
- Download the firmware update from Honeywell's official support channels
- Review the firmware release notes to confirm the path traversal vulnerability (CWE-22) is addressed
- Follow Honeywell's documented firmware upgrade procedure for the Notifier Web Server
- After upgrade, verify the fix by testing that path traversal attempts are blocked and restricted directories cannot be accessed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6974 — 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-2020-6974 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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