How severe is CVE-2020-11931?

CVE-2020-11931 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.3, rated low severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity none, and availability none.

Is CVE-2020-11931 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (25th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-11931?

CVE-2020-11931 primarily affects Pulseaudio. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-11931?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2020-11931 published?

CVE-2020-11931 was published on 2020-05-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-11931

CVE-2020-11931 is a low-severity vulnerability in Pulseaudio with a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.3. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-668.

Key facts

Severity: Low (CVSS 3.x base score 3.3)
CVSS v2: 2.1
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (25th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-668
Affected product: Pulseaudio
Published: 2020-05-15
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An Ubuntu-specific modification to Pulseaudio to provide security mediation for Snap-packaged applications was found to have a bypass of intended access restriction for snaps which plugs any of pulseaudio, audio-playback or audio-record via unloading the pulseaudio snap policy module. This issue affects: pulseaudio 1:8.0 versions prior to 1:8.0-0ubuntu3.12; 1:11.1 versions prior to 1:11.1-1ubuntu7.7; 1:13.0 versions prior to 1:13.0-1ubuntu1.2; 1:13.99.1 versions prior to 1:13.99.1-1ubuntu3.2;

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-11931?: An Ubuntu-specific modification to Pulseaudio to provide security mediation for Snap-packaged applications was found to have a bypass of intended access restriction for snaps which plugs any of pulseaudio, audio-playback or audio-record via unloading the pulseaudio snap policy module. This issue affects: pulseaudio 1:8.0 versions prior to 1:8.0-0ubuntu3.12; 1:11.1 versions prior to 1:11.1-1ubuntu7.7; 1:13.0 versions prior to 1:13.0-1ubuntu1.2; 1:13.99.1 versions prior to 1:13.99.1-1ubuntu3.2;
How severe is CVE-2020-11931?: CVE-2020-11931 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 3.3, rated low severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is low, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2020-11931 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (25th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-11931?: CVE-2020-11931 primarily affects Pulseaudio. In total, 5 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-11931?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-11931 published?: CVE-2020-11931 was published on 2020-05-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (5)

cpe:2.3:a:pulseaudio:pulseaudio:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Pulseaudio

CVE-2007-1804 — High (CVSS 7.8): PulseAudio 0.9.5 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via (1) a…
CVE-2009-1894 — High (CVSS 7.2): Race condition in PulseAudio 0.9.9, 0.9.10, and 0.9.14 allows local users to gain privileges via vectors involving…
CVE-2008-0008 — High (CVSS 7.2): The pa_drop_root function in PulseAudio 0.9.8, and a certain 0.9.9 build, does not check return values from (1)…
CVE-2009-1299 — Medium (CVSS 6.9): The pa_make_secure_dir function in core-util.c in PulseAudio 0.9.10 and 0.9.19 allows local users to change the…
CVE-2024-11586 — Medium (CVSS 4.0): Ubuntu's implementation of pulseaudio can be crashed by a malicious program if a bluetooth headset is connected.
CVE-2014-3970 — Low (CVSS 2.9): The pa_rtp_recv function in modules/rtp/rtp.c in the module-rtp-recv module in PulseAudio 5.0 and earlier allows remote…

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