CVE-2020-1712: [UNKNOWN] systemd · Use After Free
Affects [UNKNOWN] systemdSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High : upgrade to 245-rc1 soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 39% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in 245-rc1
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 31 Mar 2020
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Upgrade systemd/systemd to 245-rc1.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
GitHubsystemd/systemdpkg:github/systemd/systemdOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in
|
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
To mitigate CVE-2020-1712 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately upgrade systemd to version v245-rc1 or later, where the vulnerability is patched. If upgrading is not feasible, apply any available vendor-specific patches or backported fixes. 2) Restrict local access to systems by enforcing strict user account controls, limiting the number of users with shell access, and employing strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). 3) Monitor and audit D-Bus message traffic and systemd service logs for unusual or suspicious activity that could indicate exploitation attempts. 4) Implement application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect and prevent unauthorized code execution. 5) Harden Polkit configurations to minimize unnecessary privilege grants and review policies to ensure least privilege principles are enforced. 6) Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focusing on local privilege escalation vectors. 7) Educate system administrators and security teams about this vulnerability and the importance of timely patching and monitoring.
Description
A heap use-after-free vulnerability was found in systemd before version v245-rc1, where asynchronous Polkit queries are performed while handling dbus messages. A local unprivileged attacker can abuse this flaw to crash systemd services or potentially execute code and elevate their privileges, by sending specially crafted dbus messages.
References
- bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-1712 (opens in a new tab)
- openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/05/1 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/ea0d0ede03c6f18dbc5036c5e9cccf97e415ccc2 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/1068447e6954dc6ce52f099ed174c442cb89ed54 (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/637486261528e8aa3da9f26a4487dc254f4b7abb (opens in a new tab)
- github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/bc130b6858327b382b07b3985cf48e2aa9016b2d (opens in a new tab)
- lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/06/msg00025.html (opens in a new tab)