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Radare2 CVE-2020-15121

CRITICAL
OS Command Injection (CWE-78)
2020-07-20 security-advisories@github.com
9.6
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization OS command sanitization, avoid shell exec
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 1 tactic: Execution

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 9.6 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
Patch available 1.6% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This OS Command Injection vulnerability could allow attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Avoid passing user input to shell commands. Use language-specific APIs instead of shell execution. Apply strict input validation with allowlists.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary operating system commands on the host. In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory. Affected products include: Radare Radare2, Fedoraproject Fedora. Version information: version 4.5.0.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.6 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.6%
Top 28% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.6%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

50
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +48
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

OS command injection occurs when an application passes unsanitized user input directly into system shell commands.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:radare:radare2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2023-46570 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 28

An out-of-bounds read in radare2 v.5.8.9 and before exists in the print_insn32 function of libr/arch/p/nds32/nds32-dis.h

CVE-2023-46569 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 28

An out-of-bounds read in radare2 v.5.8.9 and before exists in the print_insn32_fpu function of libr/arch/p/nds32/nds32-d

CVE-2023-4322 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Aug 14

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub repository radareorg/radare2 prior to 5.9.0. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), th

CVE-2026-6942 CRITICAL POC
9.3 Apr 23

OS command injection in radare2-mcp (the Model Context Protocol server that bridges the radare2 reverse-engineering fram

CVE-2022-1899 CRITICAL POC
9.1 May 26

Out-of-bounds Read in GitHub repository radareorg/radare2 prior to 5.7.0. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulne

CVE-2022-1297 CRITICAL POC
9.1 Apr 11

Out-of-bounds Read in r_bin_ne_get_entrypoints function in GitHub repository radareorg/radare2 prior to 5.6.8. Rated cri

CVE-2022-1296 CRITICAL POC
9.1 Apr 11

Out-of-bounds read in `r_bin_ne_get_relocs` function in GitHub repository radareorg/radare2 prior to 5.6.8. Rated critic

CVE-2023-5686 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 20

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub repository radareorg/radare2 prior to 5.9.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this v

CVE-2026-40499 HIGH POC
8.4 Apr 15

Command injection in radare2's PDB parser (versions <6.1.4) enables arbitrary command execution when analysts process ma

CVE-2026-40517 HIGH POC
8.4 Apr 22

Command injection in radare2 PDB parser (versions before 6.1.4) enables arbitrary OS command execution when users analyz

CVE-2017-16357 HIGH POC
7.8 Nov 01

In radare 2.0.1, a memory corruption vulnerability exists in store_versioninfo_gnu_verdef() and store_versioninfo_gnu_ve

CVE-2017-15932 HIGH POC
7.8 Oct 27

In radare2 2.0.1, an integer exception (negative number leading to an invalid memory access) exists in store_versioninfo

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