Integer overflows were discovered in the functions grub_cmd_initrd and grub_initrd_init in the efilinux component of GRUB2, as shipped in Debian, Red Hat, and Ubuntu (the functionality is not included in GRUB2 upstream), leading to a heap-based buffer overflow. These could be triggered by an extremely large number of arguments to the initrd command on 32-bit architectures, or a crafted filesystem with very large files on any architecture. An attacker could use this to execute arbitrary code and bypass UEFI Secure Boot restrictions. This issue affects GRUB2 version 2.04 and prior versions.
CVE-2020-15707
This medium-severity CVE scores 5.7 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 1.6%, top 27% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).
- Lower severity and no public exploit yet
A fix is available — apply it.
- CVSS v3
- 5.7
- EG Score
- 5.7(medium)
- EG Risk
- 31(Track)EG Risk 31/100SSVC: Track
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).
How it’s computedSeverity57% × 45%Exploitation2% × 40%Automatability30% × 15%Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence. - EPSS
- 73.1%
- KEV
- Not listed
Published
July 29, 2020
Last Modified
November 21, 2024
References (34)
- security@ubuntuhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00016.html
- security@ubuntuhttp://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-08/msg00017.html
- security@ubuntuhttp://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4432-1
- security@ubuntuhttp://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
- security@ubuntuhttps://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/grub2bootloader
- security@ubuntuhttps://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/grub-devel/2020-07/msg00034.html
- security@ubuntuhttps://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/ADV200011
- security@ubuntuhttps://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202104-05
- security@ubuntuhttps://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200731-0008/
- security@ubuntuhttps://usn.ubuntu.com/4432-1/
- security@ubuntuhttps://wiki.ubuntu.com/SecurityTeam/KnowledgeBase/GRUB2SecureBootBypass
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.debian.org/security/2020-GRUB-UEFI-SecureBoot
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.debian.org/security/2020/dsa-4735
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.eclypsium.com/2020/07/29/theres-a-hole-in-the-boot/
- security@ubuntuhttps://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/07/29/3
Vendor Advisories for CVE-2020-15707(1)
These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.
Patch Availability(8)
| Vendor / Ecosystem | Fixed in / Patch | Released | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ubuntu | grub2-common (2.04-1ubuntu26.1) @ focal | 2026-05-23 | ubuntu |
| redhat | shim-signed-0:15-8.el7_6 | 2020-08-03 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-signed-0:15-8.el7_7 | 2020-08-03 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-signed-0:15-8.el7_3 | 2020-08-03 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-signed-0:15-8.el7_4 | 2020-08-03 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-signed-0:15-7.el7_8 | 2020-07-29 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-unsigned-x64-0:15-7.el8 | 2020-07-29 | redhat |
| redhat | shim-0:15-14.el8_0 | 2020-07-29 | redhat |
Patches are aggregated from vendor advisories (Red Hat, Microsoft, Cisco, GitHub) and package ecosystems (OSV, GHSA). Multiple rows for the same upstream release have been deduplicated.
Weakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Additional Vendor Advisories
(9)
Vendors that published advisories for this CVE beyond the curated set above. Broader coverage but minimal per-row detail — click through for the original advisory.
- Microsoft MSRCCVE-2020-157072020-08-18
GRUB2 contained integer overflows when handling the initrd command leading to a heap-based buffer overflow.
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3216MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3216 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3217MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3217 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3223MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3223 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3227MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3227 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3271MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3271 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3274MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3274 — Moderate
- Red HatRHSA-2020:3276MODERATE2020-07-29
RHSA-2020:3276 — Moderate
- UbuntuUSN-4432-1MEDIUM
GRUB 2 vulnerabilities
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 12× in last 7d / 47× in last 30d)
Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.
- 2026-07-23 01:50 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-07-22 22:35 UTCEG score recompute
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- 2026-05-23 03:46 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-05-23 03:46 UTCVendor advisory
- 2026-05-23 03:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
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Frequently asked(5)
What is CVE-2020-15707?
When was CVE-2020-15707 disclosed?
Is CVE-2020-15707 actively exploited?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-15707?
How do I remediate CVE-2020-15707?
Dependency Blast Radius
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