CVE-2020-16843

In Firecracker 0.20.x before 0.20.1 and 0.21.x before 0.21.2, the network stack can freeze under heavy ingress traffic. This can result in a denial of service on the microVM when it is configured with a single network interface, and an availability problem for the microVM network interface on which the issue is triggered.

Published: 2020-08-04 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-16843 is rated Moderate Risk (50.6/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.67%). Core evidence: EPSS rose +1.18% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-16843

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.50% 1.67% +1.18%
2 2025-11-21 0.38% 0.50% +0.11%
3 2025-11-18 0.38%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-16843

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.9 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.2 3.6 [email protected]
4.3 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
8.6 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-16843

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-16843

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
amazon firecracker 0.20.0 cpe:2.3:a:amazon:firecracker:0.20.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
amazon firecracker 0.21.0 cpe:2.3:a:amazon:firecracker:0.21.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
amazon firecracker 0.21.1 cpe:2.3:a:amazon:firecracker:0.21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-16843

cvelogic Threat Intelligence