How severe is CVE-2020-1948?

CVE-2020-1948 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-1948?

CVE-2020-1948 affects the following packages: org.apache.dubbo:dubbo (Maven), org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-common (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2020-1948?

Update org.apache.dubbo:dubbo to 2.7.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-1948 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-1948 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-1948 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

Is CVE-2020-1948 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 7 known exploit references for CVE-2020-1948, including 4 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-2020-1948?

CVE-2020-1948 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 16.4%, placing it in the 97th 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.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-1948?

CVE-2020-1948 is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502). 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.

When was CVE-2020-1948 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-1948 was published on July 14, 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.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2020-1948 — dubbo

CRITICAL

CVE-2020-1948 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in org.apache.dubbo:dubbo. 7 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.dubbo:dubbo — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache Dubbo

Also known asGHSA-whww-v56c-cgv2

Published

Jul 14, 2020

Updated

Jul 8, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

7 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 9, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

16.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs97th percentile — riskier than 97% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-1948 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.dubbo:dubbo☕org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-common

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

This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or lower. An attacker can send RPC requests with unrecognized service name or method name along with some malicious parameter payloads. When the malicious parameter is deserialized, it will execute some malicious code. More details can be found below.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo`	all versions	2.7.7`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo:2.7.7`
☕Maven	`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-common`	all versions	2.7.7`org.apache.dubbo:dubbo-common:2.7.7`

Affected Products

1 product · 3 configurations

Application

dubboapache

≥ 2.7.0 && ≤ 2.7.6

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.

This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or l…

github.comGithubJun 2020

This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or l…

github.comGithubJul 2020

This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or l…

github.comGithubJul 2020

This vulnerability can affect all Dubbo users stay on version 2.7.6 or l…

github.comGithubJul 2020

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.dubbo:dubbo, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.dubbo:dubbo to 2.7.7 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-1948 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Do not deserialise data from untrusted sources: where the format allows it, restrict deserialisation to an explicit allowlist of expected types, and prefer a data-only format (JSON, Protobuf) over one that can reconstruct arbitrary objects until you can upgrade.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-1948 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

9.8/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

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

CWE Classification

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

Timeline

First exploit

Jun 27, 2020

Disclosed

Jul 14, 2020

Last updated

Jul 8, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2020-1948

GHSA-whww-v56c-cgv2

References

Advisorynsfocusglobal.com Advisorynvd.nist.gov Weblists.apache.org Webnsfocusglobal.com

Related vulnerabilities

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

CVE-2023-29234CVE-2023-46279CVE-2023-23638CVE-2022-39198CVE-2022-24969CVE-2021-30179CVE-2021-30180CVE-2021-25640

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedJul 8, 2026

CVE-2020-1948 — dubbo

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2020-1948 in your dependencies?