CVE-2020-15121
Command injection in Radare2
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
7.4
Command injection in Radare2
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
CVE-2020-15121- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-7224
7.4
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
EUVD-2020-7224- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
NVD
7.4
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
CVE-2020-15121- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.6 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.8 Medium
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVALPINE-CVE-2020-15121
9.6
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
ALPINE-CVE-2020-15121- CVSS 3.1
- 9.6 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
OSV
9.6
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
CVE-2020-15121- CVSS 3.1
- 9.6 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-15121
7.4
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15121- CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.6 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2020-0329 No score
Updated radare2 packages fix security vulnerability
In radare2 before version 4.5.0, malformed PDB file names in the PDB server path cause shell injection. To trigger the problem it's required to open the executable in radare2 and run idpd to trigger the download. The shell code will execute, and will create a file called pwned in the current directory (CVE-2020-15121).
The radare2 package has been updated to version 4.5.0, fixing these issues and other bugs.
Also, the radare2-cutter package has been updated to version 1.11.0.
- Record
MGASA-2020-0329- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
radare2Alpine:v3.12 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.13 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.14 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.15 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.16 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.17 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.18 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.19 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.20 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.21 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
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| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
radare2Alpine:v3.22 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.23 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Alpine:v3.24 |
before 4.5.0-r0 | 4.5.0-r0 |
radare2Mageia:7 |
before 4.5.0-1.mga7 | 4.5.0-1.mga7 |
radare2-cutterMageia:7 |
before 1.11.0-1.mga7 | 1.11.0-1.mga7 |
radare2Ubuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 0.9.6-3.1ubuntu1 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 1.6.0+dfsg-12.0.0+dfsg-12.1.0+dfsg-12.3.0+dfsg-12.3.0+dfsg-22.3.0+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.2.1+dfsg-5build14.0.0+dfsg-14.2.1+dfsg-14.2.1+dfsg-24.2.1+dfsg-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 5.5.0+dfsg-1ubuntu15.5.0+dfsg-1.1ubuntu25.5.0+dfsg-1.1ubuntu35.5.0+dfsg-1.1ubuntu3+esm1 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 5.9.8+dfsg-25.9.8+dfsg-2ubuntu0.25.10.15.9.8+dfsg-2ubuntu0.25.10.2 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 6.0.7+ds-16.1.6+ds-26.1.6+ds-36.1.8+ds-1 |
None known |
radare2Ubuntu:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 5.9.8+dfsg-26.0.4+dfsg-16.0.7+ds-1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, aliases, references | OSV | |
| aliases, products | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-15121 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.4) in Radare Radare2, published July 20, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.57%, the 75th percentile. Fixed in radare2 4.5.0-r0.
References
github.com/radareorg/radare2/security/advisories/GHSA-r552-vp94-9358
github.com/radareorg/radare2/issues/16945
github.com/radareorg/radare2/pull/16966
github.com/radareorg/radare2/commit/04edfa82c1f3fa2bc3621ccdad2f93bdbf00e4f9
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YE77P5RSE2T7JHEKMWF2ARTSJGMPXCFY
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/MWC7KNBETYE5MK6VIUU26LUIISIFGSBZ
Show 7 moreShow less
security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-15121
advisories.mageia.org/MGASA-2020-0329.html
bugs.mageia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=27060
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/7OFOJ23B5CP5XDVYTW6TTN7OFZPAIVY4
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/thread/MWC7KNBETYE5MK6VIUU26LUIISIFGSBZ
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-15121
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15121