How severe is CVE-2020-14367?

CVE-2020-14367 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-14367 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (38th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-14367?

CVE-2020-14367 primarily affects Tuxfamily Chrony. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-14367?

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

When was CVE-2020-14367 published?

CVE-2020-14367 was published on 2020-08-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-14367

CVE-2020-14367 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Tuxfamily Chrony with a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0. 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-59.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 6.0)
CVSS v2: 3.6
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (38th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-59
Affected product: Tuxfamily Chrony
Published: 2020-08-24
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder. The file is created during chronyd startup while still running as the root user, and when it's opened for writing, chronyd does not check for an existing symbolic link with the same file name. This flaw allows an attacker with privileged access to create a symlink with the default PID file name pointing to any destination file in the system, resulting in data loss and a denial of service due to the path traversal.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-14367?: A flaw was found in chrony versions before 3.5.1 when creating the PID file under the /var/run/chrony folder. The file is created during chronyd startup while still running as the root user, and when it's opened for writing, chronyd does not check for an existing symbolic link with the same file name. This flaw allows an attacker with privileged access to create a symlink with the default PID file name pointing to any destination file in the system, resulting in data loss and a denial of service due to the path traversal.
How severe is CVE-2020-14367?: CVE-2020-14367 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 6.0, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is none, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-14367 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (38th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-14367?: CVE-2020-14367 primarily affects Tuxfamily Chrony. In total, 4 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-14367?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-14367 published?: CVE-2020-14367 was published on 2020-08-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (4)

cpe:2.3:a:tuxfamily:chrony:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Tuxfamily Chrony

CVE-2016-1567 — High (CVSS 8.1): chrony before 1.31.2 and 2.x before 2.2.1 do not verify peer associations of symmetric keys when authenticating…
CVE-2015-1853 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): chrony before 1.31.1 does not properly protect state variables in authenticated symmetric NTP associations, which…
CVE-2015-1822 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): chrony before 1.31.1 does not initialize the last "next" pointer when saving unacknowledged replies to command…
CVE-2015-1821 — Medium (CVSS 6.5): Heap-based buffer overflow in chrony before 1.31.1 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service…
CVE-2012-4503 — Medium (CVSS 5.0): cmdmon.c in Chrony before 1.29 allows remote attackers to obtain potentially sensitive information from stack memory…
CVE-2012-4502 — Medium (CVSS 5.0): Multiple integer overflows in pktlength.c in Chrony before 1.29 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service…

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