CVE-2020-12856Public exploit

Long-term re-identification via silent Bluetooth pairing

Published May 18, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Silent Bluetooth pairing in OpenTrace-based COVIDSafe 1.0.17 and earlier allows remote attackers to obtain persistent device identifiers. A malicious BLE peripheral advertises the expected GATT service with an encrypted characteristic; the Android app reads it, silently bonds, and discloses its identity address and Identity Resolving Key. The attack requires Bluetooth proximity to an active affected app, and the recovered identifiers enable long-term re-identification of the phone.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability5.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Silent Bluetooth pairing in OpenTrace-based COVIDSafe 1.0.17 and earlier allows remote attackers to obtain persistent device identifiers. A malicious BLE peripheral advertises the expected GATT service with an encrypted characteristic; the Android app reads it, silently bonds, and discloses its identity address and Identity Resolving Key. The attack requires Bluetooth proximity to an active affected app, and the recovered identifiers enable long-term re-identification of the phone.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-12856
Published
May 18, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 18, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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.

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No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

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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