CVE-2020-27985
Security Onion v2 prior to 2.3.10 has an incorrect sudo configuration, which allows the administrative user to obtain root access without using the sudo password by editing and executing /home/<user>/SecurityOnion/setup/so-setup.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
Security Onion v2 prior to 2.3.10 has an incorrect sudo configuration, which allows the administrative user to obtain root access without using the sudo password by editing and executing /home/<user>/SecurityOnion/setup/so-setup.
- Record
CVE-2020-27985- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-306
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
Security Onion v2 prior to 2.3.10 has an incorrect sudo configuration, which allows the administrative user to obtain root access without using the sudo password by editing and executing /home/<user>/SecurityOnion/setup/so-setup.
- Record
CVE-2020-27985- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-20477 No score
Security Onion v2 prior to 2.3.10 has an incorrect sudo configuration, which allows the administrative user to obtain root access without using the sudo password by editing and executing /home/<user>/SecurityOnion/setup/so-setup.
- Record
EUVD-2020-20477- Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
Security Onion v2 prior to 2.3.10 has an incorrect sudo configuration, which allows the administrative user to obtain root access without using the sudo password by editing and executing /home/<user>/SecurityOnion/setup/so-setup.
- Record
CVE-2020-27985- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-27985 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.8) in Securityonionsolutions Security Onion, published November 23, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.53%, the 45th percentile. No source names a fixed version.