Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
- EPSS is 0.30% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-14477High confidence
Philips Ultrasound Systems Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
Philips · Ultrasound ClearVue
3.6LowCVSS 3.1
Scheduled
Patch availableLow technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityLow→Operational priority:Low, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Philips Ultrasound ClearVue and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Low technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Patch available01
What, why and how
In Philips Ultrasound ClearVue Versions 3.2 and prior, Ultrasound CX Versions 5.0.2 and prior, Ultrasound EPIQ/Affiniti Versions VM5.0 and prior, Ultrasound Sparq Version 3.0.2 and prior and Ultrasound Xperius all versions, an attacker may use an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication of the alternate service login to view or modify information.
What
In Philips Ultrasound ClearVue Versions 3.2 and prior, Ultrasound CX Versions 5.0.2 and prior, Ultrasound EPIQ/Affiniti Versions VM5.0 and prior, Ultrasound Sparq Version 3.0.2 and prior and Ultrasound Xperius all versions, an attacker may use an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication of the alternate service login to view or modify information.
Why
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
In Philips Ultrasound ClearVue Versions 3.2 and prior, Ultrasound CX Versions 5.0.2 and prior, Ultrasound EPIQ/Affiniti Versions VM5.0 and prior, Ultrasound Sparq Version 3.0.2 and prior and Ultrasound Xperius all versions, an attacker may use an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication of the alternate service login to view or modify information.
Why
The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low: a basic authenticated account is required
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High: exploitation depends on specific conditions
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-288 ↗
CWE-288: Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel. The product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:NCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACHighAttack complexity: Successful exploitation depends on specific conditions outside the attacker's direct control.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CLowConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ILowIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a limited loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Patch available
- Affected
- Fixed
- Philips released Ultrasound EPIQ/Affiniti Version VM6.0 in April 2020
- and recommends users with the Ultrasound EPIQ/Affiniti systems to
- contact their local Philips service support team, or regional service
- support for installation information.
- Philips is currently planning the following new releases:
- * Ultrasound ClearVue Version 3.3 release in Q4 2020
- * Ultrasound CX Version 5.0.3 release in Q4 2020
- * Ultrasound Sparq Version 3.0.3 release in Q4 2020
- As an interim mitigation to this vulnerability, Philips recommends
- customers ensure service providers can guarantee installed device
- integrity during all service and repair operations.
- Users with questions regarding their specific Ultrasound installation
- Action
- Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 26 Jun 2020 · Last source change 4 Jun 2025, 21:56 UTC · CWE-288 · Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-6613
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.