How severe is CVE-2020-5410?

CVE-2020-5410 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-5410?

CVE-2020-5410 affects the following packages: org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server (Maven), org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2020-5410?

Update org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server to 2.1.9 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-5410 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2020-5410 in my Maven dependencies?

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

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-5410 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.

Is CVE-2020-5410 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2020-5410, including 6 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-2020-5410?

CVE-2020-5410 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 95.6%, placing it in the 100th 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. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2020-5410 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2020-5410 (VMware Tanzu Spring Cloud Config Directory Traversal Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-03-25. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-04-15. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-5410?

CVE-2020-5410 is classified as CWE-23 (CWE-23), Path Traversal (CWE-22). These weakness types 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.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2020-5410?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2020-5410, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2020-5410 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-5410 was published on June 2, 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

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-5410 — spring-cloud-config-server

HIGH

CVE-2020-5410 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-23 vulnerability in org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server. 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.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Directory traversal attack in Spring Cloud Config

Also known asGHSA-32xf-jwmv-9hf3

Published

Jun 2, 2020

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

2 pkgs

Patched

2 / 2

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 21, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

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.
CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2020-5410.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

95.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

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

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-5410 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

2 pkgs affected

☕org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server☕org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server

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

Spring Cloud Config, versions 2.2.x prior to 2.2.3, versions 2.1.x prior to 2.1.9, and older unsupported versions allow applications to serve arbitrary configuration files through the spring-cloud-config-server module. A malicious user, or attacker, can send a request using a specially crafted URL that can lead to a directory traversal attack.

Affected Packages

2 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server`	≥ 2.1.0&&< 2.1.9	2.1.9`org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server:2.1.9`
☕Maven	`org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server`	≥ 2.2.0&&< 2.2.3	2.2.3`org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-config-server:2.2.3`

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

spring cloud configvmware

≥ 2.2.0 && < 2.2.3

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.