CVE-2020-5222Network attack vector

Authentication bypass via shared persistent-cookie signing key

Published Jan 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Authentication bypass in Opencast before 7.6 and version 8.0 allows remote attackers with a stolen persistent-login token to access peer servers. The default etc/security/mh_default_org.xml configuration signs persistent-cookie data with the same hard-coded system key on every server. Exploitation requires a valid token from another account and identical account credentials across targets; it grants access to peer cluster nodes without revealing the password.

CVSS severity6.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.94%
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 Opencast before 7.6 and version 8.0 allows remote attackers with a stolen persistent-login token to access peer servers. The default etc/security/mh_default_org.xml configuration signs persistent-cookie data with the same hard-coded system key on every server. Exploitation requires a valid token from another account and identical account credentials across targets; it grants access to peer cluster nodes without revealing the password.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5222
Published
Jan 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Opencast
Product
Opencast
Classifications
CWE-798, T1550.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 30, 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=< 7.6
  2. Affected versionversion=>= 8.0, < 8.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Opencast · Opencastversion=< 7.6; version=>= 8.0, < 8.1

Published CVSS scores

6.5NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:N/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-798Use of Hard-coded Credentials
T1550.004Use Alternate Authentication Material: Web Session Cookie

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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