CVE-2020-37029
Published: 30 January 2026
Summary
CVE-2020-37029 is a high-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Dummysoftware (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 5.2th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-16 (Memory Protection).
Deeper analysis
CVE-2020-37029 is a local buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-120) affecting FTPDummy version 4.80 in its preference file handling. The flaw enables attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting a malicious preference file with carefully constructed shellcode that triggers a structured exception handler (SEH) overwrite, ultimately allowing execution of system commands. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.4 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high impact with low complexity and no privileges required.
A local attacker can exploit this vulnerability by creating and loading a specially crafted preference file into the application. No user interaction or elevated privileges are needed, enabling the attacker to gain arbitrary code execution on the affected system with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts.
Advisories and related resources include the vendor site at http://www.dummysoftware.com/ftpdummy.html, a proof-of-concept exploit at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48685, and a detailed advisory from VulnCheck at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ftpdummy-local-buffer-overflow. These references document the issue but do not specify patches or mitigations in the provided CVE details.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-30947
Vulnerability details
FTPDummy 4.80 contains a local buffer overflow vulnerability in its preference file handling that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code. Attackers can craft a malicious preference file with carefully constructed shellcode to trigger a structured exception handler overwrite and execute…
more
system commands.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Local buffer overflow in preference file handling directly enables arbitrary code execution via a crafted malicious file (T1204.002) and supports local exploitation for privilege escalation or code execution (T1068).
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly prevents the buffer overflow in preference file handling by requiring validation of all application information inputs to reject malformed data.
Mitigates exploitation of the buffer overflow via SEH overwrite through memory protections like DEP, ASLR, and stack canaries.
Requires timely flaw remediation for known vulnerabilities like CVE-2020-37029 by patching, updating, or removing the affected FTPDummy software.