How severe is CVE-2020-16250?

CVE-2020-16250 has a CVSS score of 8.2/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-16250?

CVE-2020-16250 affects the following packages: github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go), github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go), github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go), github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go). Ecosystems affected: Go.

How do I fix CVE-2020-16250?

Update github.com/hashicorp/vault to 1.2.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-16250 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-16250 in my Go dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-16250 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

Is CVE-2020-16250 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2020-16250 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-2020-16250?

CVE-2020-16250 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.5%, placing it in the 74th 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 indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-16250?

CVE-2020-16250 is classified as CWE-290 (CWE-290), CWE-345 (CWE-345). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2020-16250 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-16250 was published on August 26, 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.

🐹

🐹 Go

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-16250 — vault

HIGH

CVE-2020-16250 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.2) CWE-290 vulnerability in github.com/hashicorp/vault. A fix is available for github.com/hashicorp/vault — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Authentication Bypass by Spoofing and Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity in Hashicorp Vault

Also known asBIT-vault-2020-16250GHSA-fp52-qw33-mfmwGO-2022-0825

Published

Aug 26, 2020

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

4 / 4

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 8, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.5%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs74th percentile — riskier than 74% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-16250 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 385,987 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected

🐹github.com/hashicorp/vault🐹github.com/hashicorp/vault🐹github.com/hashicorp/vault🐹github.com/hashicorp/vault

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

HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise versions 0.7.1 and newer, when configured with the AWS IAM auth method, may be vulnerable to authentication bypass. Fixed in 1.2.5, 1.3.8, 1.4.4, and 1.5.1..

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐹Go	`github.com/hashicorp/vault`	≥ 0.8.1&&< 1.2.5	1.2.5`go get github.com/hashicorp/vault@v1.2.5`
🐹Go	`github.com/hashicorp/vault`	≥ 1.3.0&&< 1.3.8	1.3.8`go get github.com/hashicorp/vault@v1.3.8`
🐹Go	`github.com/hashicorp/vault`	≥ 1.4.0&&< 1.4.4	1.4.4`go get github.com/hashicorp/vault@v1.4.4`
🐹Go	`github.com/hashicorp/vault`	≥ 1.5.0&&< 1.5.1	1.5.1`go get github.com/hashicorp/vault@v1.5.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 8 configurations

Application

vaulthashicorp

≥ 1.5.0 && < 1.5.1

range

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/hashicorp/vault, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/hashicorp/vault to 1.2.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-16250 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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 HatModerate

Product	Fixed in	Advisory
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.13	`openshift4/topology-aware-lifecycle-manager-rhel8-operator:v4.13.1-6`	RHSA-2023:3342
RHODF-4.13-RHEL-9	`odf4/odf-rhel9-operator:v4.13.0-24`	RHSA-2023:3742

Frequently Asked Questions

HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise versions 0.7.1 and newer, when configured with the AWS IAM auth method, may be vulnerable to authentication bypass. Fixed in 1.2.5, 1.3.8, 1.4.4, and 1.5.1..

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-16250 in your dependencies?

Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

8.2/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

High

Availability

None

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

CWE Classification

CWE-290CWE-290 CWE-345CWE-345

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

vault

6.5/10

Code-Review0/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-Protection8/10

Assessed Oct 5, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Aug 26, 2020

Last updated

Jul 8, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2020-16250

GHSA-fp52-qw33-mfmw

BIT-vault-2020-16250

GO-2022-0825

References

Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorygithub.com Advisoryhashicorp.com Advisorynvd.nist.gov Webhashicorp.com Packagegithub.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is high severity; 6 of 8 other CVEs affecting vault are rated as high or higher (top: high).

CVE-2026-4525CVE-2026-5807CVE-2026-5052CVE-2026-3605CVE-2025-11621CVE-2025-12044CVE-2025-6203CVE-2025-6013

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedJul 8, 2026

CVE-2020-16250 — vault

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-2020-16250 in your dependencies?