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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2020-5283: XSS vulnerability in CVS show_subdir_lastmod support

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 14/100)

  • 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: 1.3% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 71.5% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. Administrator privileges are required. A user must open a link or visit a page. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: viewvc (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 1.1.28-lp151.3.3.1; viewvc (openSUSE:Leap 15.2) 1.1.28-lp152.4.3.1; viewvc (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 1.3.0~dev20230104-1.1.

Low priority for now. Upgrade to viewvc (openSUSE:Leap 15.1) 1.1.28-lp151.3.3.1; viewvc (openSUSE:Leap 15.2) 1.1.28-lp152.4.3.1; viewvc (openSUSE:Tumbleweed) 1.3.0~dev20230104-1.1 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

ViewVC before versions 1.1.28 and 1.2.1 has a XSS vulnerability in CVS show_subdir_lastmod support. The impact of this vulnerability is mitigated by the need for an attacker to have commit privileges to a CVS repository exposed by an otherwise trusted ViewVC instance that also has the `show_subdir_lastmod` feature enabled. The attack vector involves files with unsafe names (names that, when embedded into an HTML stream, would cause the browser to run unwanted code), which themselves can be challenging to create. This vulnerability is patched in versions 1.2.1 and 1.1.28.

LowCVSS 3.5 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available
Published
Apr 2, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
1.3% · 71th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

14

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
14 / 40 · 3.5 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 1.3%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
3.5
CNA · GitHub_M
3.1
0.4 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/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?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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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
viewvcviewvc

Affected versions

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

  • viewvc viewvcbefore 1.1.28
  • viewvc viewvc1.2.0 and later · before 1.2.1

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.

  • viewvc viewvc

    • < 1.1.28, >= 1.2.0, < 1.2.1affected

Package-level exposure

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

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
openSUSE:Leap 15.1viewvcbefore 1.1.28-lp151.3.3.11.1.28-lp151.3.3.1
openSUSE:Leap 15.2viewvcbefore 1.1.28-lp152.4.3.11.1.28-lp152.4.3.1
openSUSE:Tumbleweedviewvcbefore 1.3.0~dev20230104-1.11.3.0~dev20230104-1.1
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1viewvcbefore 1.1.28-bp151.4.3.11.1.28-bp151.4.3.1
SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP2viewvcbefore 1.1.28-bp152.4.3.11.1.28-bp152.4.3.1

Same product

viewvc: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2010-0005query.py in the query interface in ViewVC before 1.1.3 does not reject configurations that specify an unsupported authorizer for a root, whi
    31Monitor
  • CVE-2025-54141ViewVC's standalone server exposes arbitrary server filesystem content
    30Monitor
  • CVE-2007-5743viewvc 1.0.3 allows improper access control to files in a repository when using the "forbidden" configuration option.
    30Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2012-4533Nov 18, 2012 · Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the "extra" details in the DiffSource._get_row function in lib/viewvc.py in ViewVC 1.0.x before
    18Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2017-5938Mar 15, 2017 · Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the nav_path function in lib/viewvc.py in ViewVC before 1.0.14 and 1.1.x before 1.1.26 allows re
    24Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2023-22456Jan 3, 2023 · ViewVC XSS vulnerability in revision view changed paths
    24Monitor

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
opensuse:viewvc1.1.28-lp151.3.3.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.1Package registry (OSV)
suse:viewvc1.1.28-bp151.4.3.1 · SUSE:Package Hub 15 SP1Package 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.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • A user must open a link or visit a page.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

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

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-80 · Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS)

CVSS vector

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

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

  1. Fix✗ → ✓

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

References

Show all references (2 more)

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

All records