CVE-2020-8948
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 Sierra Wireless Windows Mobile Broadband Driver Packages (MBDP) before build 5043 allows an unprivileged user to overwrite arbitrary files in arbitrary folders using hard links. An unprivileged user could leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code with 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 confidenceThe Sierra Wireless Windows Mobile Broadband Driver Packages (MBDP) before build 5043 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where an unprivileged user can create hard links to overwrite arbitrary files in any folder on the system. This allows the attacker to gain SYSTEM-level code execution.
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< 5043CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check if Sierra Wireless MBDP software is installedLook for Sierra Wireless Mobile Broadband Driver Package in the list of installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Sierra Wireless' or 'MBDP'.Affected if The software is not found in the installed programs list, meaning the driver package is not present on the system.
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Identify the installed build versionRight-click the Sierra Wireless MBDP entry in Programs and Features and select Properties, or check the driver file version in Device Manager under Network adapters. Look for a build number or version field.Affected if The build number displayed is less than 5043, indicating the vulnerable version is installed.
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Verify the driver component is presentCheck for the presence of Sierra Wireless driver files in Program Files or Program Files (x86), typically under a Sierra Wireless directory. Also confirm the network adapter appears in Device Manager.Affected if The driver files or network adapter are present on the system, meaning the attack surface exists regardless of version display.
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Check driver version via Device ManagerOpen Device Manager, expand Network adapters, locate the Sierra Wireless Mobile Broadband device, right-click and select Properties, then view the Driver tab for version information.Affected if The driver version shown is below the fixed build 5043.
The system is affected if Sierra Wireless Mobile Broadband Driver Package is installed with a build number lower than 5043, as this version allows unprivileged hard link creation leading to SYSTEM code 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 data5043
Update the Sierra Wireless MBDP driver packages to build 5043 or later. Apply the vendor patch to remediate the hard link vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8948 — 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-2020-8948 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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