CVE-2020-5206 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-285 vulnerability in org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-5206 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Authentication Bypass For Endpoints With Anonymous Access in Opencast
Real-World Exposure
org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel☕org.opencastproject:opencast-kernelReal-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
In Opencast before 7.6 and 8.1, 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. This problem is fixed in Opencast 7.6 and Opencast 8.1
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel | all versions | 7.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel | ≥ 8.0&&< 8.1 | 8.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-5206 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-5206. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-5206 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-5206 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.