CVE-2020-8252

The implementation of realpath in libuv < 10.22.1, < 12.18.4, and < 14.9.0 used within Node.js incorrectly determined the buffer size which can result in a buffer overflow if the resolved path is longer than 256 bytes.

Published: 2020-09-18 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-8252 is rated Moderate Risk (48.8/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.71%). 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-2020-8252

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 0.20% 0.71% +0.52%
2 2025-11-21 1.26% 0.20% -1.06%
3 2025-11-18 — 1.26% —

Full EPSS history (11 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-8252

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
4.6 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.9 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-8252

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-8252

vendor priority summary link
alpine high CVE-2020-8252: 2 source package rows (libuv, nodejs); 42 state rows across 9 repos (3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 42, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-8252
debian unimportant CVE-2020-8252 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (libuv1), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-8252
gentoo normal CVE-2020-8252: 1 GLSA(s) (202009-15), 1 atom(s) (dev-libs/libuv); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2020-8252
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8252
suse high CVE-2020-8252 severity important: SUSE including 36 source package names (12:nodejs12-12.18.4-4.6.1, 12:npm12-12.18.4-4.6.1, …), 115 product×package rows across 21 product lines (Container bci/node, SUSE Liberty Linux 8, … (21 product lines)): Fixed 93, Known Not Affected 22. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8252/
ubuntu medium CVE-2020-8252 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (libuv1), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bionic, focal, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 2, released 2, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-8252

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-8252

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
nodejs node.js >= 10.0.0, < 10.22.1 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 12.0.0, < 12.18.4 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
nodejs node.js >= 14.0.0, < 14.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:nodejs:node.js:*:*:*:*:-:*:*:*
opensuse leap 15.2 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 33 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:33:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-8252

cvelogic Threat Intelligence