CVE-2020-5231Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authenticated account creation via overbroad default role

Published Jan 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper authorization in Opencast before 7.6 and version 8.0 allows remote authenticated users to create accounts through user-utils. The default etc/security/mh_default_org.xml configuration grants ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN access to the /** catch-all route, exposing the account-creation endpoint. Possession of that non-standard role is required; it permits creation of additional non-administrator accounts and does not grant ROLE_ADMIN.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.63%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper authorization in Opencast before 7.6 and version 8.0 allows remote authenticated users to create accounts through user-utils. The default etc/security/mh_default_org.xml configuration grants ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN access to the /** catch-all route, exposing the account-creation endpoint. Possession of that non-standard role is required; it permits creation of additional non-administrator accounts and does not grant ROLE_ADMIN.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-5231
Published
Jan 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Opencast
Product
Opencast
Classifications
CWE-285, CWE-276, T1136
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

4.8GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
6.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/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-285Improper Authorization
CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1136Create Account

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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