How severe is CVE-2020-13936?

CVE-2020-13936 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-13936?

CVE-2020-13936 affects the following packages: org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent (Maven), org.apache.velocity:velocity (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2020-13936?

Update org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent to 2.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-13936 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-13936 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-13936 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

Is CVE-2020-13936 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2020-13936 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-13936?

CVE-2020-13936 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 22.7%, placing it in the 98th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

When was CVE-2020-13936 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-13936 was published on March 10, 2021 and was last updated on April 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-13936 — velocity-engine-parent

HIGH

CVE-2020-13936 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) vulnerability in org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent. EPSS puts its 30-day exploitation probability at 22.7% (98th percentile). A fix is available for org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Sandbox Bypass in Apache Velocity Engine

Also known asGHSA-59j4-wjwp-mw9m

Published

Mar 10, 2021

Updated

Apr 16, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

1 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 10, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

22.7%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-2020-13936 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,738 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent☕org.apache.velocity:velocity

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

An attacker that is able to modify Velocity templates may execute arbitrary Java code or run arbitrary system commands with the same privileges as the account running the Servlet container. This applies to applications that allow untrusted users to upload/modify velocity templates running Apache Velocity Engine versions up to 2.2.

Affected Packages

2 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent`	all versions	2.3`org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent:2.3`
☕Maven	`org.apache.velocity:velocity`	all versions	No fix

Affected Products

16 products · 28 configurations

Application

velocity engineapache

< 2.3

range

Application

wss4japache

1 version

2.3.1

debian linuxdebian

1 version

9.0

Application

banking deposits and lines of credit servicingoracle

1 version

2.12.0

Application

banking enterprise default managementoracle

≥ 2.3.0 && ≤ 2.4.1

4 versions

2.6.22.7.12.10.02.12.0

Application

banking loans servicingoracle

1 version

2.12.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.velocity:velocity-engine-parent to 2.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-13936 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

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

OpenShift Container Platform (OCP) openshift-logging/elasticsearch6-rhel8 container does contain a vulnerable version of velocity. The references to the library only occur in the x-pack component which is an enterprise-only feature of Elasticsearch - hence it has been marked as wontfix as this time and may be fixed in…

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat EAP-XP 2.0.0 via EAP 7.3.x base	`velocity`	RHSA-2021:2755
Red Hat EAP-XP via EAP 7.3.x base	`velocity`	RHSA-2021:2210
Red Hat Fuse 7.9	`velocity`	RHSA-2021:3140
Red Hat Integration	`velocity`	RHSA-2021:4918
Red Hat Integration Camel Quarkus 2	see advisory	RHSA-2021:4767
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform	`org.apache.velocity/velocity-engine-core:2.3.0.redhat-00001`	RHSA-2021:3660
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7	`velocity`	RHSA-2021:2051
Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform 7.1 EUS for RHEL 7	`eap7-resteasy-0:3.0.27-1.Final_redhat_00001.1.ep7.el7`	RHSA-2025:1746

UbuntuHIGH

USN-6281-1Ubuntu

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-13936 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

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CVE-2020-13936 — velocity-engine-parent

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Fixing This On Your OS

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2020-13936 in your dependencies?