Exploited CVEs / Sophos / CVE-2020-12271
CVE-2020-12271
Sophos SFOS SQL Injection Vulnerability. Exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA, not predicted, and the vulnerability is known to be used in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03 (that deadline has passed); treat that date as the outer bound for your own environment. Check the vendor security advisory for the fix.
Risk summary
Actively exploited Sophos SFOS vulnerability, Critical severity, CVSS 9.8. Added to the CISA KEV catalog 2021-11-03.
Senserva AI Opinion for CVE-2020-12271
Sophos SFOS firewalls with the administration service or User Portal exposed on the WAN zone were hit through this SQL injection, which attackers used in a live campaign to exfiltrate usernames and enable remote code execution, and it has ransomware linkage. A firewall database holds local credentials that often mirror credentials used elsewhere. The 42 percent EPSS score understates it: this was actively weaponized against internet-facing management interfaces.
Do this: Confirm Sophos firewalls received the hotfix and disable WAN-zone access to the admin service and User Portal.
AI-generated from public data, 2026-07-07. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting.
Senserva AI Opinion and rich prompt for CVE-2020-12271
Copy this prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. The facts are included, sourced from this page.
Updated August 14, 2026. Data refreshed on every build from MSRC, CISA KEV, and FIRST EPSS.
Full tracking and change history for CVE-2020-12271
- Published
- 2021-11-03
- Last revised
- 2021-11-03
- Changes tracked
- 1
Published and last-revised dates are authoritative, from Microsoft MSRC (or the CISA KEV date-added). Senserva additionally records day-to-day changes from 2026-07-07, refreshed several times a day; the change count reflects that forward-only tracking.
- 2021-11-03 added to the CISA KEV catalog by CISA
- 2026-07-17 CVSS 0.0 to 9.8; EPSS first scored at 42.2%
- 2026-08-05 EPSS 42.2% to 42.4%
Recorded by Senserva on the dates shown, from CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. This is what moved and when, which neither the vendor advisory nor NVD publishes.
CISA required action
Federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date: 2022-05-03 (past due).
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Official fix for CVE-2020-12271
Check the vendor's security advisory channel for the patched SFOS versions and workarounds.
Common questions about CVE-2020-12271
Is CVE-2020-12271 actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2020-12271 was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed, not predicted. Its EPSS 30-day exploitation probability is 42%. CISA also reports it is known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
What is the CISA deadline and required action for CVE-2020-12271?
CISA set the federal (BOD 22-01) remediation due date at 2022-05-03, which has passed; treat any unremediated system as overdue. The verbatim required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
What fixes CVE-2020-12271?
Check the vendor's security advisory for the patched SFOS versions and any workarounds. KEV listing makes this a fix-first item: patch it ahead of higher-CVSS issues nobody is exploiting.
Can I ask my own AI about CVE-2020-12271?
Yes. This page includes a free, ready-to-paste AI prompt containing CVE-2020-12271's key facts: severity, CVSS, EPSS, the KEV date, the CISA due date, and the required action. Copy it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot; the data is refreshed twice a day (5 AM and 3 PM US Central).
Scope and sources
- More exploited Sophos CVEs
All Sophos exploited CVEs on one page: Sophos vulnerabilities actively exploited.
- Authoritative references
Every actively exploited CVE, searchable with due dates and CSV export: the exploited-CVE tracker. The newest additions: exploited this week.