CVE-2020-9478
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Rubrik 5.0.3-2296. An OS command injection vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker to remotely execute arbitrary code on Rubrik-managed systems.
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 confidenceAn OS command injection vulnerability in Rubrik 5.0.3-2296 allows an authenticated attacker to inject and execute arbitrary operating system commands on Rubrik-managed systems, potentially compromising the entire infrastructure managed by the Rubrik appliance.
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>= 5.0.0, <= 5.0.4>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.2CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Identify Rubrik CDM versionAccess the Rubrik admin UI or use the Rubrik CLI (rbkcli) to retrieve the CDM version. In the UI, navigate to the 'About' or 'System' section. From CLI, run: `rubrik cluster version` or check the dashboard for the build number.Affected if The installed version is 5.0.0 through 5.0.4, or 5.1.0 through 5.1.1 (any build before 5.1.2). Compare your version against these affected ranges.
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Verify authentication configurationCheck the Rubrik security settings to confirm whether local or remote authentication (LDAP, Active Directory, SAML) is enabled. Navigate to 'Settings' > 'Authentication' in the admin UI.Affected if Authentication is enabled and accessible to users who can log into the Rubrik appliance, as the vulnerability requires an authenticated attacker.
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Confirm remote access exposureReview network configuration to determine if the Rubrik management interface is exposed to untrusted networks. Check firewall rules and access policies for the Rubrik appliance IP or hostname.Affected if The Rubrik UI or API is reachable from networks beyond the trusted internal environment, increasing the attack surface for authenticated attackers.
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Audit user account activityReview Rubrik audit logs for unusual or unexpected command execution. Use the UI under 'Activity' or query logs via CLI for commands that originate from the Rubrik shell.Affected if Unexpected commands appear in audit logs that were not initiated by authorized administrators, indicating potential exploitation.
You are affected if your Rubrik CDM version falls within 5.0.0-5.0.4 or 5.1.0-5.1.1 AND the appliance allows authenticated access from users who could inject OS commands.
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 data5.1.2
Apply the vendor-supplied patch for Rubrik 5.0.3-2296. Until patched, limit access to trusted authenticated users only and monitor for suspicious command execution patterns.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9478 — 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-2020-9478 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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