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Gryphon Tower FirmwareOperating system · Gryphonconnect

CVE-2021-20146

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 04.0004.12 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
An unprotected ssh private key exists on the Gryphon devices which could be used to achieve root access to a server affiliated with Gryphon's development and infrastructure. At the time of discovery, the ssh key could be used to login to the development server hosted in Amazon Web Services.

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 confidence

An unprotected SSH private key was discovered embedded in Gryphon devices. This private key provided root access to Gryphon's development server hosted in Amazon Web Services, allowing any holder of the key to gain privileged access to the company's infrastructure.

MitigationRemove the exposed SSH private key from all Gryphon devices and immediately rotate the compromised SSH credentials on the affected AWS development server. Investigate how the key was included in device firmware and ensure it is not present in future releases.

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
Gryphon Tower FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 04.0004.12

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify firmware version
    Access the device administrative interface or check /etc/version or /etc/os-release to determine the installed Gryphon Tower firmware version
    Affected if The firmware version is 04.0004.12 or lower
  2. Locate SSH private key files
    Search the device filesystem for SSH private keys in common locations such as /root/.ssh/, /home/*/.ssh/, /etc/ssh/, or embedded within firmware images
    Affected if An SSH private key file exists in these locations on the device
  3. Inspect SSH authorized_keys
    Examine /root/.ssh/authorized_keys and /home/*/.ssh/authorized_keys files to determine if any keys are configured for remote root access
    Affected if Unauthorized or unexpected public keys are present in authorized_keys files
  4. Check SSH daemon configuration
    Review /etc/ssh/sshd_config to verify SSH authentication methods and identify any non-standard key paths or configurations
    Affected if SSH is configured to use private keys from non-standard locations or permits root login with key-based authentication

The device is affected if it runs Gryphon Tower firmware version 04.0004.12 or lower and contains an embedded SSH private key that could provide remote access to the device or connected infrastructure.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 04.0004.12
Interim mitigation

Remove the exposed SSH private key from all Gryphon devices and immediately rotate the compromised SSH credentials on the affected AWS development server. Investigate how the key was included in device firmware and ensure it is not present in future releases.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Gryphon Tower Firmware > 04.0004.12 (contact vendor for exact fixed version)

  1. Contact Gryphon technical support to confirm the availability of a patched firmware version that removes the exposed SSH private key
  2. If a patched firmware is available, upgrade the Gryphon Tower device to the latest firmware version
  3. After upgrading, verify that the unprotected SSH private key is no longer present on the device
  4. If no patched firmware is available, isolate the Gryphon device on a restricted network segment to limit potential attack surface

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Gryphon Tower Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-20146 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data