CVE-2020-36909
Published: 06 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2020-36909 is a medium-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Securecomputing Snapgear Sg560 Firmware. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 43.9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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 AC-6 (Least Privilege) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly mitigates path traversal in POST parameters by validating and sanitizing file path inputs to the edit_config_files CGI script.
Enforces least privilege for authenticated users and the CGI process, limiting the scope of arbitrary file read, write, and delete operations.
Enforces approved access authorizations to restrict file manipulations to the intended /etc/config/ directory despite path traversal attempts.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Path traversal in CGI script enables authenticated low-priv users to perform arbitrary file read/write/delete, facilitating privilege escalation via exploitation (T1068), credential dumping from Linux credential stores (T1003.008), file discovery (T1083), evasion via deletion (T1070.004), and unsecured credential collection (T1552.001).
NVD Description
SnapGear Management Console SG560 3.1.5 contains a file manipulation vulnerability that allows authenticated users to read, write, and delete files using the edit_config_files CGI script. Attackers can manipulate POST request parameters in /cgi-bin/cgix/edit_config_files to access and modify files outside the…
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intended /etc/config/ directory.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2020-36909 is a file manipulation vulnerability (CWE-22) in the SnapGear Management Console SG560 version 3.1.5. The issue affects the edit_config_files CGI script at /cgi-bin/cgix/edit_config_files, which permits authenticated users to read, write, and delete files outside the intended /etc/config/ directory through manipulation of POST request parameters.
An authenticated attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), no user interaction (UI:N), and unchanged scope (S:U). Exploitation grants access to arbitrary file read, write, and delete operations, resulting in high confidentiality impact and a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (C:H/I:N/A:N).
Advisories and proof-of-concept exploits are documented in references including VulnCheck (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/secure-computing-snapgear-management-console-sg-arbitrary-file-readwrite), Zero Science Labs (https://www.zeroscience.mk/en/vulnerabilities/ZSL-2020-5568.php), Exploit-DB (https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48556), and PacketStorm (https://packetstorm.news/files/id/157939). No specific patches or mitigation steps are detailed in the provided information.
Publicly available proof-of-concept exploits highlight the vulnerability's exploitability in affected SnapGear deployments.
Details
- CWE(s)