CVE-2020-8444Network attack vector

Authenticated service interruption via heap use-after-free

Published Jan 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Use-after-free in OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt analysisd via crafted ossec-alert messages. The ossec-analysisd OS_ReadMSG path cleans message fields, then the ossec-alert decoder frees lf->full_log while hostname and program_name still reference that heap allocation; later rule processing dereferences those dangling pointers. Exploitation requires an authenticated agent connection through ossec-remoted and can crash or otherwise interrupt the analysis service; no confidentiality or integrity outcome is established by the published behavior.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability2.49%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0 allows remote authenticated users to interrupt analysisd via crafted ossec-alert messages. The ossec-analysisd OS_ReadMSG path cleans message fields, then the ossec-alert decoder frees lf->full_log while hostname and program_name still reference that heap allocation; later rule processing dereferences those dangling pointers. Exploitation requires an authenticated agent connection through ossec-remoted and can crash or otherwise interrupt the analysis service; no confidentiality or integrity outcome is established by the published behavior.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-8444
Published
Jan 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-416, T1210
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 30, 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 vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
9.8NVDCVSS: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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-416Use After Free
T1210Exploitation of Remote Services

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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