---
id: CVE-2020-1712
title: >-
  A heap use-after-free vulnerability was found in systemd before version
  v245-rc1, where asynchronous Polkit queries are performed while handling dbus
  messages
summary: >-
  A heap use-after-free vulnerability was found in systemd before version
  v245-rc1, where asynchronous Polkit queries are performed while handling dbus
  messages. A local unprivileged attacker can abuse this flaw to crash systemd
  services o…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-416
vendor: systemd_project
product: systemd
affected:
  - systemd <= 244
  - ceph_storage = 4.0
  - discovery
  - migration_toolkit = 1.0
  - openshift_container_platform = 4.0
  - enterprise_linux = 8.0
  - debian_linux = 9.0
published: '2020-03-31'
updated: '2026-10-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-14T09:17:18.400'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1712'
references:
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-1712'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/1068447e6954dc6ce52f099ed174c442cb89ed54
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/637486261528e8aa3da9f26a4487dc254f4b7abb
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/bc130b6858327b382b07b3985cf48e2aa9016b2d
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/ea0d0ede03c6f18dbc5036c5e9cccf97e415ccc2
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/06/msg00025.html'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/05/1'
    label: secalert@redhat.com
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2020-1712'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/1068447e6954dc6ce52f099ed174c442cb89ed54
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/637486261528e8aa3da9f26a4487dc254f4b7abb
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/bc130b6858327b382b07b3985cf48e2aa9016b2d
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/systemd/systemd/commit/ea0d0ede03c6f18dbc5036c5e9cccf97e415ccc2
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/06/msg00025.html'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/05/1'
    label: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
  - url: 'https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-398330.html'
    label: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2020/cve-2020-1712.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-1712'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1794578'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-1712'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1712'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0564'
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0575'
tags:
  - nvd
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
epss: 0.00456
epssPercentile: 0.37816
ingestedAt: '2026-10-14T09:24:26.053Z'
patched:
  - enterprise_linux_baseos_e4s_v_8_0
  - enterprise_linux_baseos_v_8
---

## Overview

A heap use-after-free vulnerability was found in systemd before version v245-rc1, where asynchronous Polkit queries are performed while handling dbus messages. A local unprivileged attacker can abuse this flaw to crash systemd services or potentially execute code and elevate their privileges, by sending specially crafted dbus messages.

## Affected

- `systemd <= 244`
- `ceph_storage = 4.0`
- `discovery`
- `migration_toolkit = 1.0`
- `openshift_container_platform = 4.0`
- `enterprise_linux = 8.0`
- `debian_linux = 9.0`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Vendor advisories

- **RHSA-2020:0564** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS E4S (v. 8.0) · released 2020-02-20 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0564)
- **RHSA-2020:0575** · Red Hat · fixed in: Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) · released 2020-02-24 · [advisory](https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2020:0575)