CVE-2020-15258

Insecure use of shell.openExternal in Wire

HIGH
8
CVSS Score
Published: October 16, 2020 at 04:50 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 02:56 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsWireWire

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Severity
HIGH8
Exploit prediction
EPSS 2%

Description

In Wire before 3.20.x, `shell.openExternal` was used without checking the URL. This vulnerability allows an attacker to execute code on the victims machine by sending messages containing links with arbitrary protocols. The victim has to interact with the link and sees the URL that is opened. The issue was patched by implementing a helper function which checks if the URL's protocol is common. If it is common, the URL will be opened externally. If not, the URL will not be opened and a warning appears for the user informing them that a probably insecure URL was blocked from being executed. The issue is patched in Wire 3.20.x. More technical details about exploitation are available in the linked advisory.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 3.20.2934
Affected range stops below 3.20.2934, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 3.20.x
Affected range stops below 3.20.x, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

CVSS

8HIGHGitHub_M
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Complexity
HIGH
Privileges
LOW
User Interaction
REQUIRED
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-20

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