CVE-2020-10727: Artemis commons ActiveMQ Artemis Has Insufficiently Protected Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q9g8-9hpp-xc82
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CVSS 5.5
CWE-312 CWE-522
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-10727 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) activemq artemis has insufficiently protected vulnerability (CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) affecting Artemis commons libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves activemq artemis has insufficiently protected credentials. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.13.0.

CVE-2020-10727 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-10727
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q9g8-9hpp-xc82
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.5
CWE Classification CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
Affected Product Artemis commons
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.5

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

Attack Vector Local (AV:L)
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-2020-10727

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Artemis commons 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.activemq:artemis-commons fixed: 2.13.0 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.activemq</groupId>
    <artifactId>artemis-commons</artifactId>
    <version>2.13.0</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.apache.activemq

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2020-10727, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

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

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Artemis commons in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.13.0), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq 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-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information, where the product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere. In Artemis commons, 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 ActiveMQ Artemis management API from version 2.7.0 up until 2.12.0, where a user inadvertently stores passwords in plaintext in the Artemis shadow file (etc/artemis-users.properties file) when executing the `resetUsers` operation. A local attacker can use this flaw to read the contents of the Artemis shadow file.

CVE-2020-10727 Affected Artemis commons Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.13.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
org.apache.activemq:artemis-commons
maven/org.apache.activemq/artemis-commons
Maven
≥ 2.7.0
< 2.13.0
2.13.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-10727 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10727
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1827200
Artemis commons Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/artemis
issues.redhat.com/browse/entmqbr-3435 WEB
https://issues.redhat.com/browse/ENTMQBR-3435
Artemis commons Security Information SECURITY
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210827-0001

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-10727?
CVE-2020-10727 is a security vulnerability in Artemis commons involving ActiveMQ Artemis has Insufficiently Protected Credentials under CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information.
Which Artemis commons versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.13.0 across affected packages: org.apache.activemq:artemis-commons.
What version fixes CVE-2020-10727?
Upgrading to 2.13.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is artemis-commons affected?
Yes, org.apache.activemq:artemis-commons is affected in releases prior to 2.13.0. Upgrade your dependency to 2.13.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-10727?
CVE-2020-10727 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-10727?
CVE-2020-10727 is classified under CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information (The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2020-10727?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=org.apache.activemq'. 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-q9g8-9hpp-xc82",
  "modified" : "2026-07-07T13:11:30Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:21:42Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-10727" ],
  "summary" : "ActiveMQ Artemis has Insufficiently Protected Credentials",
  "details" : "A flaw was found in ActiveMQ Artemis management API from version 2.7.0 up until 2.12.0, where a user inadvertently stores passwords in plaintext in the Artemis shadow file (etc/artemis-users.properties file) when executing the `resetUsers` operation. A local attacker can use this flaw to read the contents of the Artemis shadow file.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.activemq:artemis-commons"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.13.0"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "<= 2.12.0"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10727"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1827200"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/artemis"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.redhat.com/browse/ENTMQBR-3435"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20210827-0001"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-312", "CWE-522" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-24T01:26:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-06-26T16:15:00Z"
  }
}