CVE-2020-11890Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Administrator-to-Super-User escalation via root-group reassignment

Published Apr 21, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Incorrect access control in Joomla CMS 2.5.0 through 3.9.16 allows remote authenticated users to corrupt the site's ACL configuration. The Usergroup table class accepts changes that move the public root group below another group or promote a child group to root, breaking the ACL hierarchy. Administrator access is required; a public exploit uses the corrupted hierarchy to create a Super User account and execute code.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability2.76%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Incorrect access control in Joomla CMS 2.5.0 through 3.9.16 allows remote authenticated users to corrupt the site's ACL configuration. The Usergroup table class accepts changes that move the public root group below another group or promote a child group to root, breaking the ACL hierarchy. Administrator access is required; a public exploit uses the corrupted hierarchy to create a Super User account and execute code.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-11890
Published
Apr 21, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-20, T1068
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 21, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
5.3NIST NVDCVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo