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CVE-2020-5231· NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

Opencast users with ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN can create new users

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 26/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.62% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: opencast opencast 7.6.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to opencast opencast 7.6 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In Opencast before 7.6 and 8.1, users with the role ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN can use the user-utils endpoint to create new users not including the role ROLE_ADMIN. ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN is a non-standard role in Opencast which is referenced neither in the documentation nor in any code (except for tests) but only in the security configuration. From the name – implying an admin for a specific course – users would never expect that this role allows user creation. This issue is fixed in 7.6 and 8.1 which both ship a new default security configuration.

MediumCVSS 6.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Jan 30, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.6% · 49th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

26

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
26 / 40 · 6.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.6%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
6.5
CNA · GitHub_M
4.8
1.7 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

  • when it enters CISA KEV
  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
apereoopencast

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • apereo opencastbefore 7.6
  • apereo opencast8.0

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • opencast opencast

    • < 7.6, >= 8.0, < 8.1affected

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Mavenorg.opencastproject:opencast-kernelfrom 8.0 · before 8.18.1
Mavenorg.opencastproject:opencast-kernelbefore 7.67.6

Same product

apereo: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2020-5206Authentication Bypass For Endpoints With Anonymous Access in OpenCast
    40Plan
  • CVE-2020-5222Hard-Coded Key Used For Remember-me Token in OpenCast
    35Monitor
  • CVE-2020-5229Opencast stores passwords using outdated MD5 hash algorithm
    32Monitor
  • CVE-2021-43821Files Accessible to External Parties in Opencast
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2024-52797Searching Opencast may cause a denial of service
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2018-16153An issue was discovered in Apereo Opencast 4.x through 10.x before 10.6.
    30Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
opencast opencast7.6 · descriptionVendor (CNA)
Maven:org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel7.6Package registry (OSV)
Maven:org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel8.1Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • A low-privileged account is enough.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
high · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
High
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-285 · Improper Authorization

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records