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CVE Record

CVE-2020-35512: A use-after-free flaw was found in D-Bus Development branch <= 1.13.16, dbus-1.12.x stable branch <= 1.12.1...

A use-after-free flaw was found in D-Bus Development branch <= 1.13.16, dbus-1.12.x stable branch <= 1.12.18, and dbus-1.10.x and older branches <= 1.10.30 when a system has multiple usernames sharing the same UID. When a set of policy rules references these usernames, D-Bus may free some memory in the heap, which is still used by data structures necessary for the other usernames sharing the UID, possibly leading to a crash or other undefined behaviors

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-35512 is a memory safety flaw in D-Bus. It is triggered only in systems where multiple usernames share one UID and D-Bus policies reference those usernames. The documented outcome is a possible crash or undefined behavior, not confirmed remote compromise.

Executive priority

Treat this as a targeted hygiene issue for systems with affected D-Bus packages, especially legacy or customized hosts. Prioritize normal patch cycles unless internal inventory finds shared-UID account configurations or sensitive systems depending on custom D-Bus policy behavior.

Technical view

Affected D-Bus branches can incorrectly free heap memory when evaluating policy rules for multiple usernames sharing the same UID. Other username-related data structures may still reference that memory, creating a use-after-free condition with crash or undefined behavior potential.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely on systems running affected D-Bus versions with nonstandard account mappings where several usernames share one UID and D-Bus policy rules name those accounts. Standard deployments without shared UID usernames appear less exposed based on the source description.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as CISA KEV. The trigger condition is configuration-dependent. Sources describe crash or undefined behavior, but do not provide evidence of weaponized exploitation or privilege impact.

Researcher notes

The important exposure condition is not just version; it is shared UID usernames plus policy rules referencing them. Source evidence supports memory corruption leading to crash or undefined behavior, but does not establish exploitability beyond that or active exploitation.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade D-Bus development branch to 1.13.18 or later.
  • Upgrade dbus-1.12.x stable branch to 1.12.20 or later.
  • Upgrade dbus-1.10.x to 1.10.32, noting older branches are EOL.
  • Check distribution vendor advisories for backported fixed packages.
  • Reduce or remove shared-UID usernames where operationally feasible.
  • Review D-Bus policies that reference usernames sharing a UID.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory installed D-Bus package versions across managed systems.
  • Check whether distro packages include the CVE fix as a backport.
  • Identify usernames that share the same numeric UID.
  • Review D-Bus policy rules referencing those usernames.
  • Confirm affected hosts no longer run vulnerable D-Bus branches after patching.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

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

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CVE-2020-35512 mapping review

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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
5Source 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/aD-Bus Development branch<= 1.13.16 (Fixed: >= 1.13.18)Listed
n/adbus-1.12.x stable branch<= 1.12.18 (Fixed: >= 1.12.20)Listed
n/adbus-1.10.x and older branches (EOL)<= 1.10.30 (Fixed: 1.10.32)Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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