How severe is CVE-2020-5206?

CVE-2020-5206 has a CVSS score of 10/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-5206?

CVE-2020-5206 affects the following packages: org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel (Maven), org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2020-5206?

Update org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel to 7.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-5206 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-5206 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-5206 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-2020-5206 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2020-5206 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-2020-5206?

CVE-2020-5206 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.3%, placing it in the 70th 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-2020-5206?

CVE-2020-5206 is classified as CWE-285 (CWE-285), Improper Authentication (CWE-287). These weakness types describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2020-5206 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-5206 was published on January 30, 2020 and was last updated on October 20, 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-2020-5206 — opencast-kernel

CRITICALFix: opencast/opencast@b157e1f

CVE-2020-5206 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-285 vulnerability in org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel. A fix is available for org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Authentication Bypass For Endpoints With Anonymous Access in Opencast

Also known asGHSA-vmm6-w4cf-7f3x

Published

Jan 30, 2020

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Nov 6, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs70th percentile — riskier than 70% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

2 pkgs affected

☕org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel☕org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel

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

Impact

Using a remember-me cookie with an arbitrary username can cause Opencast to assume proper authentication for that user even if the remember-me cookie was incorrect given that the attacked endpoint also allows anonymous access.

This way, an attacker can, for example, fake a remember-me token, assume the identity of the global system administrator and request non-public content from the search service without ever providing any proper authentication.

Patches

This problem is fixed in Opencast 7.6 and Opencast 8.1

Workarounds

As a workaround for older, unpatched versions, disabling remember-me cookies in etc/security/mh_default_org.xml will mitigate the problem but will obviously also disable this feature without obvious indication. To deactivate this, remove the following line from the security configuration:

<sec:remember-me … />

References

Remember-me cookie in the security configuration file

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Open an issue in opencast/opencast
For security-relevant information, email us at [email protected]

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel`	all versions	7.6`org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel:7.6`
☕Maven	`org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel`	≥ 8.0&&< 8.1	8.1`org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel:8.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

opencastapereo

< 7.6

1 version

8.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel to 7.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-5206 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

### Impact Using a remember-me cookie with an arbitrary username can cause Opencast to assume proper authentication for that user even if the remember-me cookie was incorrect given that the attacked endpoint also allows anonymous access. This way, an attacker can, for example, fake a remember-me token, assume the identity of the global system administrator and request non-public content from the search service without ever providing any proper authentication. ### Patches This problem is fixed in Opencast 7.6 and Opencast 8.1 ### Workarounds As a workaround for older, unpatched versions