Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2020-16251

HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise versions 0.8.3 and newer, when configured with the GCP GCE auth method, may be vulnerable to authentication bypass. Fixed in 1.2.5, 1.3.8, 1.4.4, and 1.5.1.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 8.2, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts limited data confidentiality, integrity (unauthorized modifications), for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from hashicorp 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

2020-08-26T15:15:12.913

Last Modified

2024-11-21T05:07:01.677

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 8.2 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

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

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Primary
CWE-287

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.2.5	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.3.8	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.4.4	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.5.1	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.2.5	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.3.8	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.4.4	Yes
Application	hashicorp	vault	< 1.5.1	Yes

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159479/Hashicorp-Vault-GCP-IAM-Integration-Authentication-Bypass.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#151 Release Notes, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/category/vault/ Product, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159479/Hashicorp-Vault-GCP-IAM-Integration-Authentication-Bypass.html Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#151 Release Notes, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/category/vault/ Product, Vendor 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 hashicorp'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.