How severe is CVE-2020-13948?

CVE-2020-13948 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-13948?

CVE-2020-13948 affects the following packages: apache-superset (PyPI). Ecosystems affected: PyPI.

How do I fix CVE-2020-13948?

Update apache-superset to 0.37.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-13948 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-13948 in my PyPI dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-superset. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-13948 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.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2020-13948?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-13948 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2020-13948 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2020-13948 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.

When was CVE-2020-13948 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-13948 was published on September 17, 2020 and was last updated on July 8, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐍 PyPI

CVE-2020-13948

HIGH

CVE-2020-13948 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) vulnerability in apache-superset. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-13948 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

Apache Superset OS Command Injection

Also known asBIT-superset-2020-13948GHSA-cj7g-h7rf-h8j9PYSEC-2020-222

Published

Sep 17, 2020

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐍apache-superset

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

Description

While investigating a bug report on Apache Superset, it was determined that an authenticated user could craft requests via a number of templated text fields in the product that would allow arbitrary access to Python’s os package in the web application process in versions < 0.37.1. It was thus possible for an authenticated user to list and access files, environment variables, and process information. Additionally it was possible to set environment variables for the current process, create and update files in folders writable by the web process, and execute arbitrary programs accessible by the web process. All other operations available to the os package in Python were also available, even if not explicitly enumerated in this CVE.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐍PyPI	`apache-superset`	all versions	0.37.1

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apache-superset. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update apache-superset to 0.37.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-13948 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-13948 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2020-13948. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

While investigating a bug report on Apache Superset, it was determined that an authenticated user could craft requests via a number of templated text fields in the product that would allow arbitrary access to Python’s `os` package in the web application process in versions < 0.37.1. It was thus possible for an authenticated user to list and access files, environment variables, and process information. Additionally it was possible to set environment variables for the current process, create and update files in folders writable by the web process, and execute arbitrary programs accessible by the

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-13948 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2020-13948 across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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