HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-27779
HIGH

CVE-2020-27779

CWE-285Published: March 3, 2021· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.5
CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A flaw was found in grub2 in versions prior to 2.06. The cutmem command does not honor secure boot locking allowing an privileged attacker to remove address ranges from memory creating an opportunity to circumvent SecureBoot protections after proper triage about grub's memory layout. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality and integrity as well as system availability.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-27779 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires high 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 7.5.

The vulnerability has a "Changed" scope, meaning successful exploitation can impact components beyond the vulnerable component itself — such as the host operating system or adjacent services.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges Req.High
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Fedora1 product(s)
fedora
gnu1 product(s)
grub2
netapp1 product(s)
ontap select deploy administration utility
Red Hat5 product(s)
enterprise linuxenterprise linux server ausenterprise linux server eusenterprise linux server tusenterprise linux workstation
Source: NVD CPE · 20 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://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1900698
ADVISORYhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220325-0001/
ADVISORYhttps://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1900698
ADVISORYhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05
ADVISORYhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220325-0001/

All References (8)

→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1900698Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZWZ36QK4IKU6MWDWNOOWKPH3WXZBHT2R/
→
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220325-0001/Third Party Advisory
→
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1900698Issue Tracking · Third Party Advisory
→
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ZWZ36QK4IKU6MWDWNOOWKPH3WXZBHT2R/
→
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05Third Party Advisory
→
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220325-0001/Third Party Advisory

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2020-27779
CVSS Score7.5 / 10
SeverityHIGH
WeaknessCWE-285
CISA KEVNo
Affected4 vendor(s)
PublishedMar 3, 2021

Related CVEs (CWE-285)

CVE-2021-31384
10.0
CVE-2026-57983
10.0
CVE-2021-37705
10.0
CVE-2022-2595
10.0
CVE-2020-5206
10.0
CVE-2026-34048
9.9

Recommended Actions

  • →Apply vendor patches immediately
  • →Monitor CVE-2020-27779 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. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.
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