What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-8445?

CVE-2020-8445 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 2.3%.

Ossec CVE-2020-8445

CRITICAL

Improper Input Validation (CWE-20)

2020-01-30 cve@mitre.org

Code Injection Ossec

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-20 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
Impact	CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the critical-severity affected system.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.

No patch listed yet 2.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

In OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0, the OS_CleanMSG function in ossec-analysisd doesn't remove or encode terminal control characters or newlines from processed log messages. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-20. In OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0, the OS_CleanMSG function in ossec-analysisd doesn't remove or encode terminal control characters or newlines from processed log messages. In many cases, those characters are later logged. Because newlines (\n) are permitted in messages processed by ossec-analysisd, it may be possible to inject nested events into the ossec log. Use of terminal control characters may allow obfuscating events or executing commands when viewed through vulnerable terminal emulators. This may be an unauthenticated remote attack for certain types and origins of logged data. Affected products include: Ossec. Version information: through 3.5.0.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

In OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0, the OS_CleanMSG function in ossec-analysisd doesn't remove or encode terminal control characters or newlines from processed log messages. In many cases, those characters are later logged. Because newlines (\n) are permitted in messages processed by ossec-analysisd, it may be possible to inject nested events into the ossec log. Use of terminal control characters may allow obfuscating events or executing commands when viewed through vulnerable terminal emulators. This may be an unauthenticated remote attack for certain types and origins of logged data.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

2.3%

Top 19% exploitable

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

GitHub

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 2.3%

Patch available No

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

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +2

CVSS: +49

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Code Injection CRITICAL

Code injection occurs when an application accepts user input and passes it directly into a language interpreter or evaluator without proper sanitization.