CVE-2020-12638
6.8 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2020-12638 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting espressif esp-idf. It was published on July 23, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
An encryption-bypass issue was discovered on Espressif ESP-IDF devices through 4.2, ESP8266_NONOS_SDK devices through 3.0.3, and ESP8266_RTOS_SDK devices through 3.3. Broadcasting forged beacon frames forces a device to change its authentication mode to OPEN, effectively disabling its 802.11 encryption.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from espressif. Update esp-idf to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| espressif | esp-idf | 0 | Affected |
| espressif | esp8266_nonos_sdk | 0 | Affected |
| espressif | esp8266_rtos_sdk | 0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-12638?
CVE-2020-12638 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting espressif esp-idf. It was published on July 23, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2020-12638?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.8, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-12638?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from espressif. Update esp-idf to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-12638?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-12638 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
AI-driven PR review catches vulnerable dependencies before they ship.
Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
Related MEDIUM CVEs from 2020
View all →In postfix-mta-sts-resolver before 0.5.1, All users can receive incorrect response from daemon under
Potential security vulnerabilities have been identified in HPE OpenCall Media Platform (OCMP) result
In jQuery versions greater than or equal to 1.0.3 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML containing <option>
In jQuery starting with 1.12.0 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML from untrusted sources - even after sa
In Wiki.js before 2.3.81, there is a stored XSS in the Markdown editor. An editor with write access
The shell subsystem contains a buffer overflow, whereby an adversary with physical access to the dev
In FreeRDP less than or equal to 2.0.0, an Integer Overflow to Buffer Overflow exists. When using /v
In Saleor Storefront before version 2.10.3, request data used to authenticate customers was inadvert
Privilege Escalation vulnerability in the installer in McAfee McAfee Total Protection (MTP) trial pr
Authentication Protection Bypass vulnerability in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior t
Dell Inspiron 15 7579 2-in-1 BIOS versions prior to 1.31.0 contain an Improper SMM communication buf
Azure Sphere Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability