CVE-2017-20215

HighPublic PoCRCE

Published: 08 January 2026

Published

08 January 2026

Modified

15 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.0051 66.6th percentile

Risk Priority 18 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2017-20215 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Cxsecurity (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unix Shell (T1059.004); ranked in the top 33.4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Threat & Defense at a Glance

What attackers do: exploitation maps to Unix Shell (T1059.004) and 2 other techniques. What defenders deploy: see the NIST 800-53 controls recommended below.

Threat & Defense Details

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match

prevent

SI-10 directly and comprehensively prevents OS command injection by requiring validation of unvalidated input parameters used to execute shell commands.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match

prevent

SI-2 requires timely identification, reporting, and remediation of flaws like this specific command injection vulnerability through firmware patching.

AC-6 Least Privilege partial match

prevent

AC-6 limits the impact of successful command injection by enforcing least privilege on processes handling authenticated inputs, preventing root-level escalation.

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution

Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.

attack.mitre.org →

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation

Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.

attack.mitre.org →

T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement

Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

Authenticated OS command injection enables arbitrary Unix shell execution (T1059.004) as root, facilitating privilege escalation (T1068) via remote service exploitation (T1210).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

NVD Description

FLIR Thermal Camera FC-S/PT firmware version 8.0.0.64 contains an authenticated OS command injection vulnerability that allows attackers to execute shell commands with root privileges. Authenticated attackers can inject arbitrary shell commands through unvalidated input parameters to gain complete control of…

the thermal camera system.

Deeper analysisAI

CVE-2017-20215 is an authenticated OS command injection vulnerability (CWE-78) in FLIR Thermal Camera FC-S/PT firmware version 8.0.0.64. The issue stems from unvalidated input parameters that allow attackers to inject and execute arbitrary shell commands with root privileges, potentially granting complete control of the thermal camera system. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity due to its network accessibility and impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

An attacker with low-level authenticated access (PR:L) can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L) and no user interaction required (UI:N). Exploitation enables execution of shell commands as root, allowing full system compromise, including data exfiltration, modification of camera functions, or further pivoting within the network.

Advisories and related resources, including the FLIR security blog and multiple exploit publications, provide details on the issue, with proof-of-concept exploits available on sites such as Exploit-DB and Packet Storm. No specific patch details are outlined in the core CVE information.