CVE-2020-10693Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Remote code execution via malformed EL tokenization

Published May 6, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

EL injection in Hibernate Validator 6.1.2.Final allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code through crafted error-message input. The TokenCollector state machine converts an escaped malformed delimiter into a fresh EL token and sends the resulting message template to Jakarta EL. Exploitation requires a custom constraint to place user-controlled text directly in a violation message; built-in constraints and expression variables are unaffected.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability2.29%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

EL injection in Hibernate Validator 6.1.2.Final allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Java code through crafted error-message input. The TokenCollector state machine converts an escaped malformed delimiter into a fresh EL token and sends the resulting message template to Jakarta EL. Exploitation requires a custom constraint to place user-controlled text directly in a violation message; built-in constraints and expression variables are unaffected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-10693
Published
May 6, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Hibernate
Product
Hibernate Validator
Classifications
CWE-20, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 6, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.1.2.Final

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Hibernate · Hibernate Validatorversion=6.1.2.Final

Published CVSS scores

5.3GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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