CVE-2020-1956 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) OS Command Injection vulnerability in org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. A fix is available for org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Command Injection in Kylin
Exploitation Status
Actively exploited in the wild
- Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-25. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-04-15.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2020-1956.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2020-1956 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 394,415 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common☕org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-commonReal-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
Apache Kylin 2.3.0, and releases up to 2.6.5 and 3.0.1 has some restful apis which will concatenate os command with the user input string, a user is likely to be able to execute any os command without any protection or validation.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common | all versions | 2.6.6org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common:2.6.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.0.2 | 3.0.2org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common:3.0.2 |
Affected Products
kylinapacheResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.kylin:kylin-core-common to 2.6.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-1956 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
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.
How to detect CVE-2020-1956
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2020-1956 -u https://target- Template
- Apache Kylin 3.0.1 - Command Injection Vulnerability
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- Successful exploitation of this vulnerability can lead to unauthorized remote code execution and potential compromise of the affected server.
- Remediation
- Upgrade to a patched version of Apache Kylin or apply the necessary security patches provided by the vendor.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (iamnoooob, rootxharsh, pdresearch), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-1956 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.