How severe is CVE-2020-14144?

CVE-2020-14144 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-14144?

CVE-2020-14144 affects the following packages: code.gitea.io/gitea (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2020-14144?

Update code.gitea.io/gitea to 1.12.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-14144 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-14144 in my Go dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for code.gitea.io/gitea, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-14144 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2020-14144 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2020-14144, including 5 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-14144?

CVE-2020-14144 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 95.4%, placing it in the 100th 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. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-14144?

CVE-2020-14144 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2020-14144?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2020-14144, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2020-14144 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-14144 was published on October 16, 2020 and was last updated on October 22, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-14144 — gitea

HIGHFix: go-gitea/gitea#13058

CVE-2020-14144 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) OS Command Injection vulnerability in code.gitea.io/gitea. 6 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for code.gitea.io/gitea — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Arbitrary Code Execution in Gitea

Also known asBIT-gitea-2020-14144GHSA-3h6c-c475-jm7v

Published

Oct 16, 2020

Updated

Oct 22, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

95.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk+0.07%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-14144 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

🐹code.gitea.io/gitea

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

Description

The git hook feature in Gitea 1.1.0 through 1.12.5 might allow for authenticated remote code execution in customer environments where the documentation was not understood (e.g., one viewpoint is that the dangerousness of this feature should be documented immediately above the ENABLE_GIT_HOOKS line in the config file). NOTE: The vendor has indicated this is not a vulnerability and states "This is a functionality of the software that is limited to a very limited subset of accounts. If you give someone the privilege to execute arbitrary code on your server, they can execute arbitrary code on your server. We provide very clear warnings to users around this functionality and what it provides.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`code.gitea.io/gitea`	≥ 1.1.0&&< 1.12.6	1.12.6`go get code.gitea.io/gitea@v1.12.6`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

giteagitea

≥ 1.1.0 && ≤ 1.12.5

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.