CVE-2020-37123
Published: 05 February 2026
Description
Pinger 1.0 contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows attackers to inject shell commands through the ping and socket parameters. Attackers can exploit the unsanitized input in ping.php to write arbitrary PHP files and execute system commands by appending…
more
shell metacharacters.
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Directly prevents command injection by validating and sanitizing unsanitized inputs in the ping and socket parameters of ping.php.
Remediates the specific flaw in ping.php by identifying, reporting, and correcting the vulnerability allowing shell metacharacter injection.
Restricts malformed or malicious inputs like shell metacharacters in ping and socket parameters to block injection attempts.
Security SummaryAI
CVE-2020-37123 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Pinger 1.0, specifically affecting the ping.php component. The flaw stems from unsanitized input in the ping and socket parameters, enabling attackers to inject shell commands by appending shell metacharacters. This allows writing arbitrary PHP files and executing system commands. Published on 2026-02-05, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and maps to CWE-78 (OS Command Injection).
Remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network without authentication, privileges, or user interaction, requiring only low attack complexity. Successful exploitation achieves high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, resulting in full remote code execution on the server hosting Pinger 1.0.
Advisories and references, including those from VulnCheck (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/pinger-remote-code-execution), Exploit-DB (https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48323), and the project repository (https://github.com/wcchandler/pinger), provide additional details on the issue and potential exploits.
Details
- CWE(s)
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Remote code execution via unsanitized input in public-facing ping.php enables exploitation of public-facing applications (T1190) and facilitates OS command injection into Unix shell (T1059.004).