CVE-2020-14936

CVE-2020-14936 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Contiki-ng with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-787.

Key facts

Description

Buffer overflows were discovered in Contiki-NG 4.4 through 4.5, in the SNMP agent. Functions parsing the OIDs in SNMP requests lack sufficient allocated target-buffer capacity verification when writing parsed OID values. The function snmp_oid_decode_oid() may overwrite memory areas beyond the provided target buffer, when called from snmp_message_decode() upon an SNMP request reception. Because the content of the write operations is externally provided in the SNMP requests, it enables a remote overwrite of an IoT device's memory regions beyond the allocated buffer. This overflow may allow remote overwrite of stack and statically allocated variables memory regions by sending a crafted SNMP request.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-14936?
Buffer overflows were discovered in Contiki-NG 4.4 through 4.5, in the SNMP agent. Functions parsing the OIDs in SNMP requests lack sufficient allocated target-buffer capacity verification when writing parsed OID values. The function snmp_oid_decode_oid() may overwrite memory areas beyond the provided target buffer, when called from snmp_message_decode() upon an SNMP request reception. Because the content of the write operations is externally provided in the SNMP requests, it enables a remote overwrite of an IoT device's memory regions beyond the allocated buffer. This overflow may allow remote overwrite of stack and statically allocated variables memory regions by sending a crafted SNMP request.
How severe is CVE-2020-14936?
CVE-2020-14936 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-14936 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (70th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-14936?
CVE-2020-14936 affects Contiki-ng. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-14936?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-14936 published?
CVE-2020-14936 was published on 2020-08-18 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

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