CVE-2020-5228
HIGHCVE-2020-5228 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-862 vulnerability in org.opencastproject:opencast-oaipmh-api. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-5228 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Unauthenticated Access Via OAI-PMH
Real-World Exposure
org.opencastproject:opencast-oaipmh-api☕org.opencastproject:opencast-oaipmh-apiReal-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
Opencast before 8.1 and 7.6 allows unauthorized public access to all media and metadata by default via OAI-PMH. OAI-PMH is part of the default workflow and is activated by default, requiring active user intervention of users to protect media. This leads to users unknowingly handing out public access to events without their knowledge. The problem has been addressed in Opencast 7.6 and 8.1 where the OAI-PMH endpoint is configured to require users with ROLE_ADMIN by default. In addition to this, Opencast 9 removes the OAI-PMH publication from the default workflow, making the publication a conscious decision users have to make by updating their workflows.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.opencastproject:opencast-oaipmh-api | all versions | 7.6 |
| ☕Maven | org.opencastproject:opencast-oaipmh-api | ≥ 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-oaipmh-api. 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-oaipmh-api to 7.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-5228 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-2020-5228 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-2020-5228. 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-2020-5228 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-5228 across Maven dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.