Your RSA-2048 keys break in 2030. Find every one of them before attackers do.
☕
☕ Maven
Not in CISA KEV
CRITICAL severity

CVE-2020-11989 — shiro-core

CRITICAL

CVE-2020-11989 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in org.apache.shiro:shiro-core. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 24.4% (98th percentile). A fix is available for org.apache.shiro:shiro-core — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Improper Authentication in Apache Shiro

Also known asGHSA-72w9-fcj5-3fcg
Published
Updated
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Sep 30, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗
24.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days
Moderate Risk0.00%
Lower risk than most CVEs98th percentile — riskier than 98% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-11989 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,386 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
☕org.apache.shiro:shiro-core

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Apache Shiro is a powerful and easy-to-use Java security framework that performs authentication, authorization, cryptography, and session management. Apache Shiro before 1.5.3, when using Apache Shiro with Spring dynamic controllers, a specially crafted request may cause an authentication bypass.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
☕Mavenorg.apache.shiro:shiro-coreall versions1.5.3org.apache.shiro:shiro-core:1.5.3

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations
Application
shiroapache
< 1.5.3
range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.shiro:shiro-core, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

  2. Fix

    Update org.apache.shiro:shiro-core to 1.5.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-11989 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Red HatImportant

Whilst the OpenDaylight version that is included in Red Hat OpenStack Platform includes the affected code, the vulnerable functionality is not used and therefore not exploitable.

ProductFixed inAdvisory
Red Hat Fuse 7.8.0shiro-coreRHSA-2020:5568
UbuntuCRITICAL
USN-4740-1Ubuntu

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache Shiro is a powerful and easy-to-use Java security framework that performs authentication, authorization, cryptography, and session management. Apache Shiro before 1.5.3, when using Apache Shiro with Spring dynamic controllers, a specially crafted request may cause an authentication bypass.
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-11989 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works
CVE-2020-11989: shiro-core Auth Bypass — Fixed in 1.5.3