CVE-2020-26273

What it is

osquery is a SQL powered operating system instrumentation, monitoring, and analytics framework. In osquery before version 4.6.0, by using sqlite's ATTACH verb, someone with administrative access to osquery can cause reads and writes to arbitrary sqlite databases on disk. This _does_ allow arbitrary files to be created, but they will be sqlite databases. It does not appear to allow existing non-sqlite files to be overwritten. This has been patched in osquery 4.6.0. There are several mitigating factors and possible workarounds. In some deployments, the people with access to these interfaces may be considered administrators. In some deployments, configuration is managed by a central tool. This tool can filter for the `ATTACH` keyword. osquery can be run as non-root user. Because this also limits the desired access levels, this requires deployment specific testing and configuration.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. Limited direct impact.

Exploit odds

1.0% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2020-12-16 02:15 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 03:07 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 1.0% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 5.2 MEDIUM (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2020-12-16 02:15 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 03:07 UTC

Exploit probability

1.0% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-77 · Command injection

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linuxfoundation Osquery < 4.6.0

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.2

Attack vector

Local

Complexity

Low

Privileges needed

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2020-26273.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2020-26273. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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