CVE-2020-10024

Kernel privilege escalation via signed syscall check

Published May 11, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Privilege escalation in affected Zephyr RTOS releases allows local users with user-thread code execution to gain kernel privileges. ARM and ARC syscall dispatch code compares the attacker-controlled syscall number to the table limit as a signed integer, so a large unsigned value passes the check and selects an attacker-controlled function pointer. Exploitation requires Zephyr userspace and existing code execution in a user thread; successful use executes code with kernel privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.69%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in affected Zephyr RTOS releases allows local users with user-thread code execution to gain kernel privileges. ARM and ARC syscall dispatch code compares the attacker-controlled syscall number to the table limit as a signed integer, so a large unsigned value passes the check and selects an attacker-controlled function pointer. Exploitation requires Zephyr userspace and existing code execution in a user thread; successful use executes code with kernel privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-10024
Published
May 11, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
Zephyr Project
Product
Zephyr RTOS
Classifications
CWE-697, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 11, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=1.14.0 <unspecified
  2. Affected versionversion=2.1.0 <unspecified

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Zephyr Project · Zephyr RTOSversion=1.14.0 <unspecified; version=2.1.0 <unspecified

Published CVSS scores

7.2NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8Zephyr ProjectCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-697Incorrect Comparison
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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