CVE-2020-5529 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) CWE-665 vulnerability in net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit. A fix is available for net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Code execution vulnerability in HtmlUnit
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2020-5529.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunitReal-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
HtmlUnit prior to 2.37.0 contains code execution vulnerabilities. HtmlUnit initializes Rhino engine improperly, hence a malicious JavScript code can execute arbitrary Java code on the application. Moreover, when embedded in Android application, Android-specific initialization of Rhino engine is done in an improper way, hence a malicious JavaScript code can execute arbitrary Java code on the application.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit | all versions | 2.37.0net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit:2.37.0 |
Affected Products
camelapacheubuntu linuxcanonicaldebian linuxdebianhtmlunithtmlunitDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update net.sourceforge.htmlunit:htmlunit to 2.37.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-5529 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2020-5529 in your dependencies?
Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.