How severe is CVE-2020-27170?

CVE-2020-27170 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.

Is CVE-2020-27170 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (43rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-27170?

CVE-2020-27170 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-27170?

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

When was CVE-2020-27170 published?

CVE-2020-27170 was published on 2021-03-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-27170

CVE-2020-27170 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel with a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.7. 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-203.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 3.x base score 4.7)
CVSS v2: 1.9
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (43rd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-203
Affected product: Linux Linux Kernel
Published: 2021-03-20
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel before 5.11.8. kernel/bpf/verifier.c performs undesirable out-of-bounds speculation on pointer arithmetic, leading to side-channel attacks that defeat Spectre mitigations and obtain sensitive information from kernel memory, aka CID-f232326f6966. This affects pointer types that do not define a ptr_limit.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-27170?: An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel before 5.11.8. kernel/bpf/verifier.c performs undesirable out-of-bounds speculation on pointer arithmetic, leading to side-channel attacks that defeat Spectre mitigations and obtain sensitive information from kernel memory, aka CID-f232326f6966. This affects pointer types that do not define a ptr_limit.
How severe is CVE-2020-27170?: CVE-2020-27170 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 4.7, rated medium severity. It is exploitable over local access with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity none, and availability none.
Is CVE-2020-27170 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (43rd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-27170?: CVE-2020-27170 primarily affects Linux Linux Kernel. In total, 9 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-27170?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2020-27170 published?: CVE-2020-27170 was published on 2021-03-20 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (9)

cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:34:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
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:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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