Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-15149

NodeBB before version 1.14.3 has a bug introduced in version 1.12.2 in the validation logic that makes it possible to change the password of any user on a running NodeBB forum by sending a specially crafted socket.io call to the server. This could lead to a privilege escalation event due via an account takeover. As a workaround you may cherry-pick the following commit from the project's repository to your running instance of NodeBB: 16cee1b03ba3eee177834a1fdac4aa8a12b39d2a. This is fixed in version 1.14.3.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.9, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction requiring only low-level privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and limited availability for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from nodebb organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2020, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.

Published

2020-08-20T01:17:12.337

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:04:56.843

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 9.9 (CRITICAL)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: SINGLE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

8.0

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Secondary
CWE-269
Type: Primary
CWE-287

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	nodebb	nodebb	< 1.14.3	Yes

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159560/NodeBB-Forum-1.14.2-Account-Takeover.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/c2477d9d5ffc43e5ffeb537ea2ceb4ce9592aa39 Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/security/advisories/GHSA-hr66-c8pg-5mg7 Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://zeroauth.ltd/blog/2020/08/20/proof-of-concept-exploit-for-cve-2020-15149-nodebb-arbitrary-user-password-change/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159560/NodeBB-Forum-1.14.2-Account-Takeover.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/c2477d9d5ffc43e5ffeb537ea2ceb4ce9592aa39 Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/security/advisories/GHSA-hr66-c8pg-5mg7 Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://zeroauth.ltd/blog/2020/08/20/proof-of-concept-exploit-for-cve-2020-15149-nodebb-arbitrary-user-password-change/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For nodebb's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.