CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2020-15705

MEDIUM
6.4
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

GRUB2 fails to validate kernel signature when booted directly without shim, allowing secure boot to be bypassed. This only affects systems where the kernel signing certificate has been imported directly into the secure boot database and the GRUB image is booted directly without the use of shim. This issue affects GRUB2 version 2.04 and prior versions.

How to fix

Remediation Available
grub-efi-amd64-binUbuntu
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub-efi-amd64-signedUbuntu
Fixed in:1.34.22+2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.66.26+2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.93.18+2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.142.3+2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub-efi-arm-binUbuntu
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub-efi-arm64-binUbuntu
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub-efi-arm64-signedUbuntu
Fixed in:1.66.26+2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.93.18+2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.142.3+2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub-efi-ia32-binUbuntu
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub2Ubuntu
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1.20USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02~beta2-36ubuntu3.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.02-2ubuntu8.16USN-4432-1
Fixed in:2.04-1ubuntu26.1USN-4432-1
grub2-signedUbuntu
Fixed in:1.34.22USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.66.26USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.93.18USN-4432-1
Fixed in:1.142.3USN-4432-1

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredHigh
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

1.39%probability of exploitation in 30 days
70thpercentile

Moderate risk: more likely to be exploited than 70% of all known CVEs.

References

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-347 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2018-16042Medium6.582%--
CVE-2025-25292Critical9.865%-Fix
CVE-2025-59718Critical9.863%KEVFix
CVE-2021-22160Critical9.853%-Fix
CVE-2013-3900Medium5.545%KEV-
CVE-2018-0114High7.543%-Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2020-15705?

Published advisories record a fix for 8 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.

Is CVE-2020-15705 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2020-15705 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.4% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 70% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2020-15705?

CVE-2020-15705 has a CVSS v3 base score of 6.4, rated medium. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2020-15705 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for grub-efi-amd64-bin (Ubuntu), grub-efi-amd64-signed (Ubuntu), grub-efi-arm-bin (Ubuntu), grub-efi-arm64-bin (Ubuntu), and 4 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

Embed a live status badge for CVE-2020-15705
CVE-2020-15705 severity badge

Markdown

[![CVE-2020-15705](https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2020-15705.svg)](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2020-15705)

HTML

<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2020-15705"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2020-15705.svg" alt="CVE-2020-15705"></a>

Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet

TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.

See how it worksStart freeThis CVE lookup is free and always will be.

This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.