HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-15816
HIGH

CVE-2020-15816

CWE-668Published: July 17, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

8.8
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

In Western Digital WD Discovery before 4.0.251.0, a malicious application running with standard user permissions could potentially execute code in the application's process through library injection by using DYLD environment variables.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-15816 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 8.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

westerndigital1 product(s)
wd discovery
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
Exploit-DB
Offensive Security exploit database
GitHub PoC Search
Community PoC repositories
Rapid7 / Metasploit
Metasploit module search
PacketStorm
Security advisories & exploits
NVD Detail
Official NIST entry
MITRE CVE
CVE Program entry
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

ADVISORYhttps://www.westerndigital.com/support/productsecurity/wdc-20005-wd-discovery-remote-command-execution-vulnerability
ADVISORYhttps://www.westerndigital.com/support/productsecurity/wdc-20005-wd-discovery-remote-command-execution-vulnerability

All References (2)

→
https://www.westerndigital.com/support/productsecurity/wdc-20005-wd-discovery-remote-command-execution-vulnerabilityVendor Advisory
→
https://www.westerndigital.com/support/productsecurity/wdc-20005-wd-discovery-remote-command-execution-vulnerabilityVendor Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-15816
CVSS Score8.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-668
CISA KEVNo
Affected1 vendor(s)
PublishedJul 17, 2020

Related CVEs (CWE-668)

CVE-2012-1846
10.0
CVE-2019-8779
10.0
CVE-2019-16541
9.9
CVE-2022-1467
9.9
CVE-2020-10867
9.8
CVE-2017-18129
9.8

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2020-15816 in threat intel feeds
  • →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
← All Vulnerabilities·Search for CVE-2020-15816·NVD