How severe is CVE-2020-28638?

CVE-2020-28638 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-2020-28638 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (49th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-28638?

CVE-2020-28638 affects Dyne Tomb. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-28638?

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-2020-28638 published?

CVE-2020-28638 was published on 2020-11-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-28638

CVE-2020-28638 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Dyne Tomb 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-287.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 7.5
EPSS exploit prediction: 1% (49th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-287
Affected product: Dyne Tomb
Published: 2020-11-13
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

ask_password in Tomb 2.0 through 2.7 returns a warning when pinentry-curses is used and $DISPLAY is non-empty, causing affected users' files to be encrypted with "tomb {W] Detected DISPLAY, but only pinentry-curses is found." as the encryption key.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-28638?: ask_password in Tomb 2.0 through 2.7 returns a warning when pinentry-curses is used and $DISPLAY is non-empty, causing affected users' files to be encrypted with "tomb {W] Detected DISPLAY, but only pinentry-curses is found." as the encryption key.
How severe is CVE-2020-28638?: CVE-2020-28638 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-2020-28638 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 1% (49th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-28638?: CVE-2020-28638 affects Dyne Tomb. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-28638?: 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-2020-28638 published?: CVE-2020-28638 was published on 2020-11-13 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

https://github.com/dyne/Tomb/issues/385

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:dyne:tomb:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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