Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
AbsoluteTelnet 11.12 can be crashed through its license entry screen when an oversized license name is supplied. This is a local denial-of-service issue affecting the application, not a remote server takeover. Business urgency is moderate where AbsoluteTelnet is used for operational access, because crashes can interrupt terminal or SSH/Telnet workflows.
Executive priority
Address during normal vulnerability remediation unless AbsoluteTelnet is critical to operational access. Escalate if version 11.12 is widely deployed on administrator or operations workstations, because application crashes can disrupt access workflows.
Technical view
CVE-2020-37164 affects Celestial Software AbsoluteTelnet 11.12. The reported weakness is CWE-120 and allows a local attacker, with user interaction, to trigger high availability impact by entering an oversized license name. CVSS v4.0 is 6.7 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, and user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to endpoints running AbsoluteTelnet 11.12. The attack is local and requires interaction with the application’s license entry field, so internet-facing exposure is not indicated by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
A public ExploitDB entry and VulnCheck advisory exist, but the source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Treat this as publicly documented and reproducible, not confirmed as actively exploited in the wild.
Researcher notes
The available evidence describes a local application denial-of-service through malformed license input. No remote code execution, privilege escalation, or active exploitation is supported by the provided sources. Patch status is not stated in the bundle, so remediation should be anchored to vendor guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Identify systems running AbsoluteTelnet 11.12.
- Check Celestial Software guidance for a fixed version or official workaround.
- Upgrade or replace affected installations if vendor guidance supports it.
- Limit local access to systems where AbsoluteTelnet is installed.
- Prioritize remediation on administrator workstations and shared operational terminals.
Validation and detection
- Inventory installed AbsoluteTelnet versions across managed endpoints.
- Confirm whether version 11.12 is present.
- Review endpoint crash reports for AbsoluteTelnet failures.
- Check vendor and VulnCheck pages for updated remediation details.
- Document compensating controls for systems that cannot be updated.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
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.
CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-37164 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.7 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
6.7MediumVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- ExploitDB-48005CVE reference · exploit
- Vendor HomepageCVE reference · product
- VulnCheck Advisory: AbsoluteTelnet 11.12 - "license entry" Denial of ServiceCVE reference · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.