CVE-2020-36655: Yiisoft/yii2 gii Command Injection Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-3mpg-q26j-83j5
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CVSS 8.8
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36655 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.8) command injection vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting Yiisoft/yii2 gii libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves command injection in yiisoft/yii2-gii. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.2.2.

CVE-2020-36655 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36655
GHSA Identifier GHSA-3mpg-q26j-83j5
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.8
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product Yiisoft/yii2 gii
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.8

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-36655

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Yiisoft/yii2 gii dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

yiisoft/yii2-gii fixed: 2.2.2 
Upgrade yiisoft/yii2-gii to 2.2.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for yiisoft/yii2-gii

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-36655, inspect your project dependencies for Yiisoft/yii2 gii:

inspect dependencies for yiisoft/yii2-gii

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Yiisoft/yii2 gii in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.2.2), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In Yiisoft/yii2 gii, 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

Yii Yii2 Gii before 2.2.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via the Generator.php messageCategory field. The attacker can embed arbitrary PHP code into the model file.

CVE-2020-36655 Affected Yiisoft/yii2 gii Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.2.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
yiisoft/yii2-gii
 Packagist
< 2.2.2
2.2.2

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36655 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36655
Yiisoft/yii2 gii Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii/issues/433
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii/commit/ed61e0d85f43e23f79d7c9d1b4e5e5c09a32ce4b
Yiisoft/yii2 gii Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii
lab.wallarm.com/yii2-gii-remote-cod... WEB
https://lab.wallarm.com/yii2-gii-remote-code-execution

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36655?
CVE-2020-36655 is a security vulnerability in Yiisoft/yii2 gii involving Command injection in yiisoft/yii2-gii under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which Yiisoft/yii2 gii versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.2.2 across affected packages: yiisoft/yii2-gii.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36655?
Upgrading to 2.2.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is yiisoft/yii2-gii affected?
Yes, yiisoft/yii2-gii is affected in releases prior to 2.2.2. Upgrade your dependency to 2.2.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36655?
CVE-2020-36655 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36655?
CVE-2020-36655 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2020-36655?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for yiisoft/yii2-gii'. 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-3mpg-q26j-83j5",
  "modified" : "2025-04-02T22:31:52Z",
  "published" : "2023-01-21T03:30:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36655" ],
  "summary" : "Command injection in yiisoft/yii2-gii",
  "details" : "Yii Yii2 Gii before 2.2.2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via the Generator.php messageCategory field. The attacker can embed arbitrary PHP code into the model file.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "yiisoft/yii2-gii"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36655"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii/issues/433"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii/commit/ed61e0d85f43e23f79d7c9d1b4e5e5c09a32ce4b"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/yiisoft/yii2-gii"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lab.wallarm.com/yii2-gii-remote-code-execution"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-01-23T20:42:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-01-21T01:15:00Z"
  }
}