Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
- EPSS is 0.27% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-15137High confidence
Integer overflow in HoRNDIS
jwise · HoRNDIS
Official source article: GitHub GHSA-8Q4R-M3RH-57JX ↗. Check the applicable product and release in the original source.
5.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Scheduled
Fix not verifiedMedium 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 severityMedium→Operational priority:Low, lowered one band.downgradedsince 4 Aug 2024
Compensating controls
- 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 jwise HoRNDIS and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Fix not verified01
What, why and how
All versions of HoRNDIS are affected by an integer overflow in the RNDIS packet parsing routines. A malicious USB device can trigger disclosure of unrelated kernel memory to userspace applications on the host, or can cause the kernel to crash. Kernel memory disclosure is especially likely on 32-bit kernels; 64-bit kernels are more likely to crash on attempted exploitation. It is not believed that kernel memory corruption is possible, or that unattended kernel memory disclosure without the collaboration of a userspace program running on the host is possible. The vulnerability is in `HoRNDIS::receivePacket`. `msg_len`, `data_ofs`, and `data_len` can be controlled by an attached USB device, and a negative value of `data_ofs` can bypass the check for `(data_ofs + data_len + 8) > msg_len`, and subsequently can cause a wild pointer copy in the `mbuf_copyback` call. The software is not maintained and no patches are planned. Users of multi-tenant systems with HoRNDIS installed should only connect trusted USB devices to their system.
What
All versions of HoRNDIS are affected by an integer overflow in the RNDIS packet parsing routines. A malicious USB device can trigger disclosure of unrelated kernel memory to userspace applications on the host, or can cause the kernel to crash. Kernel memory disclosure is especially likely on 32-bit kernels; 64-bit kernels are more likely to crash on attempted exploitation. It is not believed that kernel memory corruption is possible, or that unattended kernel memory disclosure without the collaboration of a userspace program running on the host is possible. The vulnerability is in `HoRNDIS::receivePacket`. `msg_len`, `data_ofs`, and `data_len` can be controlled by an attached USB device, and a negative value of `data_ofs` can bypass the check for `(data_ofs + data_len + 8) > msg_len`, and subsequently can cause a wild pointer copy in the `mbuf_copyback` call. The software is not maintained and no patches are planned. Users of multi-tenant systems with HoRNDIS installed should only connect trusted USB devices to their system.
Why
The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.
How
An attacker operating through physical access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
What
All versions of HoRNDIS are affected by an integer overflow in the RNDIS packet parsing routines. A malicious USB device can trigger disclosure of unrelated kernel memory to userspace applications on the host, or can cause the kernel to crash. Kernel memory disclosure is especially likely on 32-bit kernels; 64-bit kernels are more likely to crash on attempted exploitation. It is not believed that kernel memory corruption is possible, or that unattended kernel memory disclosure without the collaboration of a userspace program running on the host is possible. The vulnerability is in `HoRNDIS::receivePacket`. `msg_len`, `data_ofs`, and `data_len` can be controlled by an attached USB device, and a negative value of `data_ofs` can bypass the check for `(data_ofs + data_len + 8) > msg_len`, and subsequently can cause a wild pointer copy in the `mbuf_copyback` call. The software is not maintained and no patches are planned. Users of multi-tenant systems with HoRNDIS installed should only connect trusted USB devices to their system.
Why
The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.
How
An attacker operating through physical access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.
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
- physical access → Integer Overflow or Wraparound → disrupt the affected service
- Attack surface
- Physical
- Privileges required
- Low: a basic authenticated account is required
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- 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-190 ↗
CWE-190: Integer Overflow or Wraparound. The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the original value. This occurs when an integer value is incremented to a value that is too large to store in the associated representation. When this occurs, the value may become a very small or negative number.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVPhysicalAttack vector: The attacker needs physical 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.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- No specific living-off-the-land technique is confirmed in the structured sources. Monitor normal administration tools for activity inconsistent with the affected service's baseline.
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. - Fix not verified
- Affected
- HoRNDIS: <= 9.2
- Fixed
- No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
- Action
- No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 12 Aug 2020 · Last source change 4 Aug 2024, 13:08 UTC · CWE-190 · Integer Overflow or Wraparound
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-2020-7228
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.