CVE-2020-7116
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 · uneditedThe ClearPass Policy Manager WebUI administrative interface has an authenticated command remote execution. When the attacker is already authenticated to the administrative interface, they could then exploit the system, leading to remote command execution in the underlying operating system. Resolution: Fixed in 6.7.13-HF, 6.8.5-HF, 6.8.6, 6.9.1 and higher.
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 confidenceClearPass Policy Manager WebUI contains an authenticated command injection vulnerability allowing remote command execution on the underlying operating system. An attacker with valid administrative credentials can exploit this flaw to execute arbitrary system commands.
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>= 6.7.0, <= 6.7.13>= 6.8.0, < 6.8.6>= 6.9.0, < 6.9.1CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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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Determine installed ClearPass Policy Manager versionAccess the WebUI About page or use the CLI command to retrieve the version (typically via 'show version' or similar system command). Alternatively, query the API endpoint that returns system information.Affected if The installed version falls within 6.7.0 through 6.7.13, 6.8.0 through 6.8.5, or 6.9.0.
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Verify WebUI interface is accessibleConfirm the ClearPass Policy Manager web interface is reachable on the network (typically ports 443 or 8080). Check network exposure and firewall rules.Affected if The WebUI is exposed and reachable from network segments where untrusted users could potentially obtain credentials.
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Confirm administrative user accounts existReview the list of local administrative accounts configured in ClearPass (via Users page in WebUI or via CLI enumeration).Affected if At least one administrative user account is enabled, as the vulnerability requires valid admin credentials to exploit.
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Check for suspicious administrative activityReview ClearPass audit logs and system logs for unexpected commands or scripts executed from the WebUI interface, particularly from administrative sessions.Affected if Unusual or unauthorized command executions appear in logs associated with WebUI administrative actions.
A user is affected if their ClearPass Policy Manager version is 6.7.0-6.7.13, 6.8.0-6.8.5, or 6.9.0, the WebUI is network-accessible, and administrative credentials could be obtained by an attacker.
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 data6.8.66.9.1
Apply the appropriate hotfix (6.7.13-HF, 6.8.5-HF) or upgrade to version 6.8.6 or 6.9.1 and higher to resolve the vulnerability.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7116 — 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-2020-7116 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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