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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-15437High confidence

n/a linux kernel — NULL Pointer Dereference

Unknown · linux kernel

4.4MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch only the product branches with a verified fix

Medium technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Fix availability varies by product
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityMediumOperational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.43% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs Unknown linux kernel and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Cross-source reconciliation

Remediation availability differs by product scope

Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Distribution package intelligence

Release-specific package status

Debian, ubuntu findings are scoped to the named distribution, release and source package. An absent finding does not mean a package is unaffected.

5 package states
Package result overrides the generic status

BlackTree has verified remediation for at least one product or source, but the relevant distribution still reports no fixed package for 1 affected package state shown here. Treat those rows as affected with no fix until that distribution publishes a fixed version.

Repository candidate not checked

A published vendor fix does not prove that a matching update is enabled and installable on a particular asset. Confirm the local package candidate before scheduling remediation.

Distribution releaseSource packageVendor stateFixed versionEvidence
Debian trixietrixie · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.5.7.17-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026
Debian bookwormbookworm · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.5.7.17-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026
Debian forkyforky · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.5.7.17-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026
Debian sidsid · sourcelinuxVendor fix publishedDebian records a fixed source-package version for this release.5.7.17-1Debian Security Tracker ↗Source updated 6 Oct 2026
Ubuntu 24.04 LTSnoble · standard archivelinux-raspi-realtimeAffected, no fix publishedCanonical OVAL identifies this running kernel flavour as affected and does not publish a fixed package version in this definition.Not published in this feedCanonical Ubuntu Security ↗Source updated 5 Oct 2026
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
CVE-2020-15437 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 39 · interimSUSE Product Security TeamCVE-2020-15437
8 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • SLES 15 SP1 CHOST Images for Amazon EC2
  • SLES 15 SP2 CHOST Images for Amazon EC2
  • SLES 15 SP4 CHOST Images for Amazon EC2
  • SLES 15 SP5 CHOST Images for Amazon EC2
  • SLES 15 SP4 CHOST Images for Google
  • SLES 15 SP5 CHOST Images for Google
  • SLES 15 SP4 CHOST Images for Microsoft Azure
  • SLES 15 SP5 CHOST Images for Microsoft Azure
Summary
The Linux kernel before version 5.8 is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference in drivers/tty/serial/8250/8250_core.c:serial8250_isa_init_ports() that allows local users to cause a denial of service by using the p->serial_in pointer which uninitialized.
Remediation
To install this SUSE Security Update use the SUSE recommended installation methods like YaST online_update or "zypper patch".
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-7430

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch only the product branches with a verified fix

Medium technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance. Verified remediation exists for at least one product or source, but 1 structured product or package state remain unresolved. Apply remediation only to the exact product branch confirmed by its source.

Fix availability varies by product
01

What, why and how

The Linux kernel before version 5.8 is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference in drivers/tty/serial/8250/8250_core.c:serial8250_isa_init_ports() that allows local users to cause a denial of service by using the p->serial_in pointer which uninitialized.

What

The Linux kernel before version 5.8 is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference in drivers/tty/serial/8250/8250_core.c:serial8250_isa_init_ports() that allows local users to cause a denial of service by using the p->serial_in pointer which uninitialized.

Why

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may disrupt the affected service.

What

The Linux kernel before version 5.8 is vulnerable to a NULL pointer dereference in drivers/tty/serial/8250/8250_core.c:serial8250_isa_init_ports() that allows local users to cause a denial of service by using the p->serial_in pointer which uninitialized.

Why

The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated 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
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

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
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Reference recorded

A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.

Likely attack path
local access → NULL Pointer Dereference → disrupt the affected service
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
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-476 ↗

CWE-476: NULL Pointer Dereference. The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

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:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Common 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.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CNoneConfidentiality impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.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
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
Denial of serviceCWE-476Public exploit reference
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20201125Security Bulletin 25 Nov 2020

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 25 Nov 2020, published on 25 November 2020. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-149Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu

urité Ubuntu USN-4750-1 du 25 février 2021 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4750-1 Bulletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-4751-1 du 25 février 2021 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4751-1 Bulletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-4752-1 du 25 février 2021 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4752-1 Bulletin de sécurité Ubuntu USN-4753-1 du 25 février 2021 https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4753-1 Référence CVE CVE-2020-10135 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10135 Référence CVE CVE-2020-14314 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14314 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15436 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15437 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15437 Référence CVE CVE-2020-24490 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-24490 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25212 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25212 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25284 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25284 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25641 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25641 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25643 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25643 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25656 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25656 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25668 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25668 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25669 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-125Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

Record?id=CVE-2020-0404 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0431 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0431 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0465 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0465 Référence CVE CVE-2020-11668 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-11668 Référence CVE CVE-2020-14331 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14331 Référence CVE CVE-2020-14353 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14353 Référence CVE CVE-2020-14381 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14381 Référence CVE CVE-2020-14390 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14390 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15436 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15437 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15437 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25211 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25211 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25284 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25284 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25285 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25285 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25643 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25643 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25656 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25656 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25668 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25668 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25669 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25669 Référence CVE CVE-2020-27068 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-120Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-20806 Référence CVE CVE-2019-20934 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-20934 Référence CVE CVE-2019-6133 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-6133 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0444 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0444 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0465 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0465 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0466 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0466 Référence CVE CVE-2020-10781 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10781 Référence CVE CVE-2020-11668 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-11668 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15436 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15436 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15437 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15437 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25211 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25211 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25285 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25285 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25639 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25639 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25668 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25668 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25669 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25669 Référence CVE CVE-2020-27068 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27068 Référence CVE CVE-2020-27673 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27673 Référence CVE CVE-2020-27777 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-837Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans le noyau Linux de SUSE. Certaines d'entre elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer un problème de sécurité non spécifié par l'éditeur, un déni de service et une atteinte à la confidentialité des données.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-820Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans le noyau Linux de SUSE. Certaines d'entre elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer un problème de sécurité non spécifié par l'éditeur, un déni de service et une atteinte à l'intégrité des données.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-811Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de SUSE

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans le noyau Linux de SUSE. Certaines d'entre elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer un problème de sécurité non spécifié par l'éditeur, un déni de service et une atteinte à la confidentialité des données.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2020-013951Linux Kernel における NULL ポインタデリファレンスに関する脆弱性

Linux Kernel には、NULL ポインタデリファレンスに関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
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 availability varies by product
Affected
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Use the product-specific evidence above. Patch only products with a verified fixed release, and keep every affected or under-investigation state without a matching fix in the remediation queue.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 23 Nov 2020 · Last source change 4 Aug 2024, 13:15 UTC · CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-7430
Product sourceVendor CSAF · SUSE Product Security Team
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · SUSE Product Security Team
CWE sourceNIST NVD
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Missing structured fields: affected product. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
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.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-15437 · cve.blacktree.nl