CVE-2020-22785Network attack vector

Denial of service via unrestricted empty imports

Published Apr 28, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial of service in Etherpad before 1.8.3 allows remote attackers to make pads unavailable through repeated empty import requests. The import handler accepts empty uploads for arbitrary pad IDs without an ownership check and processes them without per-IP rate limiting. Unauthenticated network access to the import endpoint is sufficient, and sustained requests can interrupt access to every targeted pad.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.07%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Etherpad before 1.8.3 allows remote attackers to make pads unavailable through repeated empty import requests. The import handler accepts empty uploads for arbitrary pad IDs without an ownership check and processes them without per-IP rate limiting. Unauthenticated network access to the import endpoint is sufficient, and sustained requests can interrupt access to every targeted pad.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-22785
Published
Apr 28, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-770, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 28, 2021CVE 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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