CVEs / CVE-2020-17496
CVE-2020-17496: vBulletin PHP Module Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Known exploited in the CISA KEV catalog since 3 Nov 2021
- critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1 (NVD)
- EPSS 87.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99% of CVEs (30 Oct 2026)
- Last changed at its sources
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Summary
The PHP module within vBulletin contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for remote code execution via crafted subWidgets data in an ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request. This CVE ID resolves an incomplete patch for CVE-2019-16759.
Description
vBulletin 5.5.4 through 5.6.2 allows remote command execution via crafted subWidgets data in an ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2019-16759.
Affected and fixed versions
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| n/a n/a | n/a | — |
Exploitation
| In CISA KEV since | 3 Nov 2021 |
|---|---|
| Due date for US federal agencies | 3 May 2022 |
| Used in ransomware campaigns | Unknown |
| Required action | Apply updates per vendor instructions. |
Severity
| CVSS 3.1 | 9.8 criticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HScored by NVD |
|---|---|
| Weakness | CWE-74 |
References
- CVE-2020-17496 on NVD
- CVE-2020-17496 in the CISA KEV catalog
- https://blog.exploitee.rs/2020/exploiting-vbulletin-a-tale-of-patch-fail/ Exploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/78.html Technical Description
- https://forum.vbulletin.com/forum/vbulletin-announcements/vbulletin-announcements_aa/4445227-vbulletin-5-6-0-5-6-1-5-6-2-security-patch Patch, Vendor Advisory
- https://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2020/Aug/5 Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-17496 US Government Resource
Sources
Exploitation status from the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. EPSS scores from FIRST. Descriptions, severity and references from the National Vulnerability Database. Open-source package versions from OSV (CC-BY 4.0). Text is shown as each source states it; Stackurity does not edit it. Check the vendor's advisory before acting.
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.