CVE-2020-8632

Account access via nine-character generated passwords

Published Feb 5, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Weak password generation in Canonical cloud-init 19.4 and earlier allows attackers to guess randomly generated user passwords. The rand_user_password function in cloudinit/config/cc_set_passwords.py creates only nine-character passwords by default, yielding about 52 bits of strength. Exposure requires cloud-init to generate an account password and attackers to reach a service that accepts that password.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.38%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Weak password generation in Canonical cloud-init 19.4 and earlier allows attackers to guess randomly generated user passwords. The rand_user_password function in cloudinit/config/cc_set_passwords.py creates only nine-character passwords by default, yielding about 52 bits of strength. Exposure requires cloud-init to generate an account password and attackers to reach a service that accepts that password.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-8632
Published
Feb 5, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-521, T1110
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 5, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

2.1NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
8.1SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

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No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-521Weak Password Requirements
T1110Brute Force

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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