CVE-2020-1764Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authentication bypass via hard-coded JWT signing key

Published Mar 26, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Authentication bypass in Kiali 0.4.0 through 1.15.0 allows remote attackers to forge JWT credentials and access its administrative API. The default configuration uses a signing key known from source code to authenticate JWT cookies instead of a deployment-specific secret. Exploitation requires network access to Kiali; forged sessions expose functions that view pod data and alter Istio routing, while OpenShift Service Mesh also requires a captured access token.

CVSS severity8.6
High
EPSS probability3.47%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Authentication bypass in Kiali 0.4.0 through 1.15.0 allows remote attackers to forge JWT credentials and access its administrative API. The default configuration uses a signing key known from source code to authenticate JWT cookies instead of a deployment-specific secret. Exploitation requires network access to Kiali; forged sessions expose functions that view pod data and alter Istio routing, while OpenShift Service Mesh also requires a captured access token.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-1764
Published
Mar 26, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Kiali
Product
Kiali
Classifications
CWE-321, CWE-798, T1606.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 26, 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=all Kiali versions prior to 1.15.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Kiali · Kialiversion=all Kiali versions prior to 1.15.1

Published CVSS scores

8.6Red Hat, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-321Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key
CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
T1606.001Forge Web Credentials: Web Cookies

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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