CVE-2018-20060: Urllib3 Exposure Of Sensitive Information To Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-www2-v7xj-xrc6
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-20060 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) exposure of sensitive information to vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Urllib3 libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized actor in urllib3. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.23.

CVE-2018-20060 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-20060
GHSA Identifier GHSA-www2-v7xj-xrc6
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Urllib3
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A: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 High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-20060

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Urllib3 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

urllib3 fixed: 1.23 
pip install urllib3>=1.23
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 urllib3

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2018-20060, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show urllib3

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Urllib3 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.23), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show urllib3 command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Urllib3, 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

urllib3 before version 1.23 does not remove the Authorization HTTP header when following a cross-origin redirect (i.e., a redirect that differs in host, port, or scheme). This can allow for credentials in the Authorization header to be exposed to unintended hosts or transmitted in cleartext.

CVE-2018-20060 Affected Urllib3 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.23
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
urllib3
pypi/urllib3
PyPI
< 1.23
1.23

References

NVD — CVE-2018-20060 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20060
Urllib3 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/issues/1316
Urllib3 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/pull/1346
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/commit/560bd227b90f74417ffaedebf5f8d05a8ee4f532
usn.ubuntu.com/3990-1 WEB
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3990-1
Urllib3 Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241227-0010
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XWP36YW3KSVLXDBY3QJKDYEPCIMN3VQZ
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BXLAXHM3Z6DUCXZ7ZXZ2EAYJXWDCZFCT
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5SJERZEJDSUYQP7BNBXMBHRHGY26HRZD
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XWP36YW3KSVLXDBY3QJKDYEPCIMN3VQZ
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BXLAXHM3Z6DUCXZ7ZXZ2EAYJXWDCZFCT
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/packa... WEB
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5SJERZEJDSUYQP7BNBXMBHRHGY26HRZD
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00015.html
Urllib3 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/blob/master/CHANGES.rst
Urllib3 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3
Urllib3 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/urllib3/PYSEC-2018-32.yaml
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1649153
access.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2019:22... WEB
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2272
Urllib3 Security Information SECURITY
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00039.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-20060?
CVE-2018-20060 is a security vulnerability in Urllib3 involving Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in urllib3 under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Urllib3 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.23 across affected packages: urllib3.
What version fixes CVE-2018-20060?
Upgrading to 1.23 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is urllib3 affected?
Yes, urllib3 is affected in releases prior to 1.23. Upgrade your dependency to 1.23 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-20060?
CVE-2018-20060 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-20060?
CVE-2018-20060 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2018-20060?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show urllib3'. 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-www2-v7xj-xrc6",
  "modified" : "2024-12-27T18:30:25Z",
  "published" : "2018-12-12T15:52:07Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-20060" ],
  "summary" : "Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor in urllib3",
  "details" : "urllib3 before version 1.23 does not remove the Authorization HTTP header when following a cross-origin redirect (i.e., a redirect that differs in host, port, or scheme). This can allow for credentials in the Authorization header to be exposed to unintended hosts or transmitted in cleartext.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "urllib3"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.23"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20060"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/issues/1316"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/pull/1346"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/commit/560bd227b90f74417ffaedebf5f8d05a8ee4f532"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://usn.ubuntu.com/3990-1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241227-0010"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XWP36YW3KSVLXDBY3QJKDYEPCIMN3VQZ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BXLAXHM3Z6DUCXZ7ZXZ2EAYJXWDCZFCT"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5SJERZEJDSUYQP7BNBXMBHRHGY26HRZD"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XWP36YW3KSVLXDBY3QJKDYEPCIMN3VQZ"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BXLAXHM3Z6DUCXZ7ZXZ2EAYJXWDCZFCT"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5SJERZEJDSUYQP7BNBXMBHRHGY26HRZD"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/06/msg00015.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3/blob/master/CHANGES.rst"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/urllib3/urllib3"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/urllib3/PYSEC-2018-32.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1649153"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2019:2272"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-09/msg00039.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-06-16T22:01:30Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-12-11T17:29:00Z"
  }
}