CVE-2020-17519: Flink runtime 2.11 Path Traversal Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-395w-qhqr-9fr6
Share
CVSS 7.5
CWE-552 CWE-22
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-17519 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) path traversal vulnerability (CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties) affecting Flink runtime 2.11 libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves path traversal in apache flink. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.11.3.

CVE-2020-17519 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-17519
GHSA Identifier GHSA-395w-qhqr-9fr6
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties
Affected Product Flink runtime 2.11
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-17519

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Flink runtime 2.11 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.11 fixed: 1.11.3 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
    <artifactId>flink-runtime_2.11</artifactId>
    <version>1.11.3</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.12 fixed: 1.11.3 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.flink</groupId>
    <artifactId>flink-runtime_2.12</artifactId>
    <version>1.11.3</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.flink

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-17519, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.flink

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Flink runtime 2.11 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.11.3), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.flink command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties, where the product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be. In Flink runtime 2.11, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A change introduced in Apache Flink 1.11.0 (and released in 1.11.1 and 1.11.2 as well) allows attackers to read any file on the local filesystem of the JobManager through the REST interface of the JobManager process. Access is restricted to files accessible by the JobManager process. All users should upgrade to Flink 1.11.3 or 1.12.0 if their Flink instance(s) are exposed. The issue was fixed in commit b561010b0ee741543c3953306037f00d7a9f0801 from apache/flink:master.

CVE-2020-17519 Affected Flink runtime 2.11 Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.11.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.11
maven/org.apache.flink/flink-runtime_2.11
Maven
≥ 1.11.0
< 1.11.3
1.11.3
org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.12
maven/org.apache.flink/flink-runtime_2.12
Maven
≥ 1.11.0
< 1.11.3
1.11.3

References

NVD — CVE-2020-17519 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17519
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vul... WEB
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-17519
lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra8c96b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra8c96bf3ccb4e491f9ce87ba35f134b4449beb2a38d1ce28fd89001f@%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra8c96b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/ra8c96bf3ccb4e491f9ce87ba35f134b4449beb2a38d1ce28fd89001f%40%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r90890a... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r90890afea72a9571d666820b2fe5942a0a5f86be406fa31da3dd0922@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r90890a... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r90890afea72a9571d666820b2fe5942a0a5f86be406fa31da3dd0922%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88f427... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88f427865fb6aa6e6378efe07632a1906b430365e15e3b9621aabe1d@%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88f427... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88f427865fb6aa6e6378efe07632a1906b430365e15e3b9621aabe1d%40%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88b55f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88b55f3ebf1f8f4e1cc61f030252aaef4b77060b56557a243abb92a1@%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88b55f... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r88b55f3ebf1f8f4e1cc61f030252aaef4b77060b56557a243abb92a1%40%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d@%3Cuser.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d@%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d@%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d%40%3Cuser.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d%40%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r684320... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r6843202556a6d0bce9607ebc02e303f68fc88e9038235598bde3b50d%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4e1b72... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4e1b72bfa789ea5bc20b8afe56119200ed25bdab0eb80d664fa5bfe2@%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4e1b72... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r4e1b72bfa789ea5bc20b8afe56119200ed25bdab0eb80d664fa5bfe2%40%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2fc60b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2fc60b30557e4a537c2a6293023049bd1c49fd92b518309aa85a0398@%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r2fc60b... WEB
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lists.apache.org/thread.html/r28f17e... WEB
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lists.apache.org/thread.html/r28f17e... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r28f17e564950d663e68cc6fe75756012dda62ac623766bb9bc5e7034%40%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r26fcdd... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r26fcdd4fe288323006253437ebc4dd6fdfadfb5e93465a0e4f68420d@%3Cuser-zh.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r26fcdd... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r26fcdd4fe288323006253437ebc4dd6fdfadfb5e93465a0e4f68420d%40%3Cuser-zh.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r229167... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r229167538863518738e02f4c1c5a8bb34c1d45dadcc97adf6676b0c1@%3Cdev.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r229167... WEB
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lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1125f3... WEB
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lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1125f3... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r1125f3044a0946d1e7e6f125a6170b58d413ebd4a95157e4608041c7%40%3Cannounce.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0a433b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0a433be10676f4fe97ca423d08f914e0ead341c901216f292d2bbe83@%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0a433b... WEB
https://lists.apache.org/thread.html/r0a433be10676f4fe97ca423d08f914e0ead341c901216f292d2bbe83%40%3Cissues.flink.apache.org%3E
Flink runtime 2.11 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/flink
Flink runtime 2.11 Security Information SECURITY
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/160849/Apache-Flink-1.11.0-Arbitrary-File-Read-Directory-Traversal.html
Flink runtime 2.11 Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2021/01/05/2

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-17519?
CVE-2020-17519 is a security vulnerability in Flink runtime 2.11 involving Path Traversal in Apache Flink under CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties.
Which Flink runtime 2.11 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.11.3 across affected packages: org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.11, org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.12.
What version fixes CVE-2020-17519?
Upgrading to 1.11.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is flink-runtime_2.11 affected?
Yes, org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.11 is affected in releases prior to 1.11.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.11.3 or later.
Is flink-runtime_2.12 affected?
Yes, org.apache.flink:flink-runtime_2.12 is affected in releases prior to 1.11.3. Upgrade your dependency to 1.11.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-17519?
CVE-2020-17519 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-17519?
CVE-2020-17519 is classified under CWE-552: Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties (The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-17519?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.flink'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-395w-qhqr-9fr6",
  "modified" : "2025-10-22T17:58:28Z",
  "published" : "2021-01-06T20:01:34Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-17519" ],
  "summary" : "Path Traversal in Apache Flink",
  "details" : "A change introduced in Apache Flink 1.11.0 (and released in 1.11.1 and 1.11.2 as well) allows attackers to read any file on the local filesystem of the JobManager through the REST interface of the JobManager process. Access is restricted to files accessible by the JobManager process. All users should upgrade to Flink 1.11.3 or 1.12.0 if their Flink instance(s) are exposed. The issue was fixed in commit b561010b0ee741543c3953306037f00d7a9f0801 from apache/flink:master.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:H"
  } ],
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    },
    "ranges" : [ {
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  }, {
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  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-22", "CWE-552" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-01-06T20:01:15Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-01-05T12:15:00Z"
  }
}