CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-7385 — Rapid7 Metasploit security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.8

By launching the drb_remote_codeexec exploit, a Metasploit Framework user will inadvertently expose Metasploit to the same deserialization issue that is exploited by that module, due to the reliance on the vulnerable Distributed Ruby class functions. Since Metasploit Framework typically runs with elevated privileges, this can lead to a system compromise on the Metasploit workstation. Note that an attacker would have to lie in wait and entice the Metasploit user to run the affected module against a malicious endpoint in a "hack-back" type of attack. Metasploit is only vulnerable when the drb_remote_codeexec module is running. In most cases, this cannot happen automatically.

Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Published
2021-04-23
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-502

Affected products

  • rapid7 / metasploit

Matched remediation archetype

Unsafe deserialization and object reconstruction

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Check exposure

  • Inventory serialization formats accepted from requests, queues, caches, files, cookies, and cross-service messages.
  • Trace whether untrusted input can select classes, types, callbacks, constructors, or object hooks during decoding.
  • Identify signing, schema validation, trust-boundary, and compatibility settings for each decoder.

Remediate safely

  • Replace native object deserialization with a data-only format and explicit schema validation.
  • If replacement is not immediate, use a safe decoder with a minimal type allowlist and disable polymorphic or executable hooks.
  • Update the affected library and add inert tests for unknown types, extra fields, malformed nesting, and unsigned data.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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