CVE-2020-1694: Keycloak parent Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-72j4-94rx-cr6w
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CVSS 4.9
CWE-183 CWE-732
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-1694 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.9) remote code execution vulnerability (CWE-183: Permissive List of Allowed Inputs) affecting Keycloak parent libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves incorrect permission assignment for critical resource and permissive list of allowed inputs in keycloak. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 10.0.0.

CVE-2020-1694 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-1694
GHSA Identifier GHSA-72j4-94rx-cr6w
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.9
CWE Classification CWE-183: Permissive List of Allowed Inputs
Affected Product Keycloak parent
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.9

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

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required High (PR:H)
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-2020-1694

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Keycloak parent 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.keycloak:keycloak-parent fixed: 10.0.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.keycloak</groupId>
    <artifactId>keycloak-parent</artifactId>
    <version>10.0.0</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.keycloak

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-1694, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Keycloak parent in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 10.0.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak 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-183: Permissive List of Allowed Inputs, where the product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are explicitly allowed by policy because the inputs are assumed to be safe, but the list is too permissive - that is, it allows an input that is unsafe, leading to resultant weaknesses. In Keycloak parent, 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 flaw was found in all versions of Keycloak before 10.0.0, where the NodeJS adapter did not support the verify-token-audience. This flaw results in some users having access to sensitive information outside of their permissions.

CVE-2020-1694 Affected Keycloak parent Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
10.0.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.keycloak:keycloak-parent
maven/org.keycloak/keycloak-parent
Maven
< 10.0.0
10.0.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-1694 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1694
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1790759

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-1694?
CVE-2020-1694 is a security vulnerability in Keycloak parent involving Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource and Permissive List of Allowed Inputs in Keycloak under CWE-183: Permissive List of Allowed Inputs.
Which Keycloak parent versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 10.0.0 across affected packages: org.keycloak:keycloak-parent.
What version fixes CVE-2020-1694?
Upgrading to 10.0.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is keycloak-parent affected?
Yes, org.keycloak:keycloak-parent is affected in releases prior to 10.0.0. Upgrade your dependency to 10.0.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-1694?
CVE-2020-1694 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.9 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-1694?
CVE-2020-1694 is classified under CWE-183: Permissive List of Allowed Inputs (The product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are explicitly allowed by policy because the inputs are assumed to be safe, but the list is too permissive - that is, it allows an input that is unsafe, leading to resultant weaknesses.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-1694?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.keycloak'. 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-72j4-94rx-cr6w",
  "modified" : "2021-04-01T21:11:24Z",
  "published" : "2022-02-09T00:57:02Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-1694" ],
  "summary" : "Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource and Permissive List of Allowed Inputs in Keycloak",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in all versions of Keycloak before 10.0.0, where the NodeJS adapter did not support the verify-token-audience. This flaw results in some users having access to sensitive information outside of their permissions.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.keycloak:keycloak-parent"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "10.0.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1694"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1790759"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-183", "CWE-732" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-01T21:11:24Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-09-16T19:15:00Z"
  }
}