LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2020-11104: An issue was discovered in USC iLab cereal through 1.3.0.

An issue was discovered in USC iLab cereal through 1.3.0. Serialization of an (initialized) C/C++ long double variable into a BinaryArchive or PortableBinaryArchive leaks several bytes of stack or heap memory, from which sensitive information (such as memory layout or private keys) can be gleaned if the archive is distributed outside of a trusted context.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-11104 is an information disclosure issue in USC iLab cereal through 1.3.0. Under a specific serialization path, archives can include a few unintended bytes from stack or heap memory. The business risk is highest when those archives are shared outside trusted systems, because leaked bytes could reveal sensitive material or aid later attacks.

Executive priority

Prioritize this where affected archives leave trusted infrastructure or are produced near sensitive processes. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but it can leak secrets or memory layout in specific conditions. If cereal use is internal-only and archives never cross trust boundaries, urgency is lower.

Technical view

When an initialized C/C++ long double is serialized into cereal BinaryArchive or PortableBinaryArchive, the archive may include several bytes of adjacent stack or heap memory. The CVE description says this could expose memory layout or private keys if the archive crosses a trust boundary. No CVSS, CWE, CPE, or patch version is supplied in the source bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to software using USC iLab cereal through 1.3.0, specifically BinaryArchive or PortableBinaryArchive serialization of C/C++ long double values. Risk depends on whether generated archives are distributed, logged, uploaded, or sent to untrusted recipients. The source bundle does not provide package inventory identifiers or CPE mappings.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show active exploitation, and KEV is false. The issue is a passive data leakage condition: an attacker would need access to affected serialized archives. Impact depends on what memory bytes are disclosed and whether they contain useful secrets or layout information.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse: the source bundle names cereal through 1.3.0 and links a GitHub issue, but provides no CVSS, CWE, CPE, exploit status, or fixed-version detail. Validation should focus on actual serialization paths and trust-boundary movement rather than package presence alone.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify any use of USC iLab cereal through version 1.3.0.
  • Check upstream cereal guidance before selecting a patch or replacement version.
  • Avoid serializing long double values into BinaryArchive or PortableBinaryArchive across trust boundaries.
  • Restrict distribution, logging, and retention of affected binary archives.
  • Treat externally shared affected archives as potentially containing unintended memory bytes.

Validation and detection

  • Search code for cereal BinaryArchive and PortableBinaryArchive usage.
  • Confirm whether long double fields are serialized in affected code paths.
  • Inventory deployed cereal versions and compare against through 1.3.0 exposure.
  • Trace whether generated archives leave trusted systems or storage.
  • Review historical archive sharing if sensitive processes generated affected data.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-11104 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.