CVE-2020-28463: Reportlab Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mpvw-25mg-59vx
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CVSS 6.5
CWE-918
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-28463 is a HIGH (CVSS 6.5) server-side request forgery (ssrf) vulnerability (CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)) affecting Reportlab libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves server-side request forgery (ssrf) via img tags in reportlab. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.5.55.

CVE-2020-28463 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-28463
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mpvw-25mg-59vx
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.5
CWE Classification CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)
Affected Product Reportlab
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.5

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:N/A:N).

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 None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-28463

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

reportlab fixed: 3.5.55 
pip install reportlab>=3.5.55
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

pip show reportlab

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-28463, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show reportlab

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Reportlab in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.5.55), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show reportlab command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF), where the web server receives a url or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this url, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination. In Reportlab, 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

All versions of package reportlab at time of writing are vulnerable to Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) via img tags. In order to reduce risk, use trustedSchemes & trustedHosts (see in Reportlab's documentation) Steps to reproduce by Karan Bamal: 1. Download and install the latest package of reportlab 2. Go to demos -> odyssey -> dodyssey 3. In the text file odyssey.txt that needs to be converted to pdf inject `<img src="http://127.0.0.1:5000" valign="top"/>` 4. Create a nc listener `nc -lp 5000` 5. Run python3 dodyssey.py 6. You will get a hit on your nc showing we have successfully proceded to send a server side request 7. dodyssey.py will show error since there is no img file on the url, but we are able to do SSRF

CVE-2020-28463 Affected Reportlab Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.5.55
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
reportlab
pypi/reportlab
PyPI
< 3.5.55
3.5.55

References

NVD — CVE-2020-28463 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28463
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1930417
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mpvw-25mg-59vx
Reportlab Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/reportlab/PYSEC-2021-146.yaml
Reportlab Security Information SECURITY
https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab
Reportlab Security Information SECURITY
https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab/file/f094d273903a/CHANGES.md#l71
Reportlab Security Information SECURITY
https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab/rev/7f2231703dc7
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00037.html
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-python-re... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-REPORTLAB-1022145
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HMUJA5GZTPQ5WRYUCCK2GEZM4W43N7HH
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YZQSFCID67K6BTC655EQY6MNOF35QI44
Reportlab Security Information SECURITY
https://www.reportlab.com/docs/reportlab-userguide.pdf

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-28463?
CVE-2020-28463 is a security vulnerability in Reportlab involving Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) via img tags in reportlab under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF).
Which Reportlab versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.5.55 across affected packages: reportlab.
What version fixes CVE-2020-28463?
Upgrading to 3.5.55 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is reportlab affected?
Yes, reportlab is affected in releases prior to 3.5.55. Upgrade your dependency to 3.5.55 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-28463?
CVE-2020-28463 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-28463?
CVE-2020-28463 is classified under CWE-918: Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-28463?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show reportlab'. 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-mpvw-25mg-59vx",
  "modified" : "2024-10-26T18:34:55Z",
  "published" : "2021-03-29T16:32:27Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-28463" ],
  "summary" : "Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) via img tags in reportlab",
  "details" : "All versions of package reportlab at time of writing are vulnerable to Server-side Request Forgery (SSRF) via img tags. In order to reduce risk, use trustedSchemes & trustedHosts (see in Reportlab's documentation) \n\nSteps to reproduce by Karan Bamal: \n1. Download and install the latest package of reportlab \n2. Go to demos -> odyssey -> dodyssey \n3. In the text file odyssey.txt that needs to be converted to pdf inject `<img src=\"http://127.0.0.1:5000\" valign=\"top\"/>`\n4. Create a nc listener `nc -lp 5000`\n5. Run python3 dodyssey.py \n6. You will get a hit on your nc showing we have successfully proceded to send a server side request \n7. dodyssey.py will show error since there is no img file on the url, but we are able to do SSRF",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "reportlab"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.5.55"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28463"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1930417"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mpvw-25mg-59vx"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/reportlab/PYSEC-2021-146.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab/file/f094d273903a/CHANGES.md#l71"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://hg.reportlab.com/hg-public/reportlab/rev/7f2231703dc7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/09/msg00037.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/HMUJA5GZTPQ5WRYUCCK2GEZM4W43N7HH"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/YZQSFCID67K6BTC655EQY6MNOF35QI44"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-REPORTLAB-1022145"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.reportlab.com/docs/reportlab-userguide.pdf"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-918" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-03-19T22:04:29Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-02-18T16:15:00Z"
  }
}