CVE-2020-11037: Wagtail Potential Observable Timing Discrepancy Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6
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CVSS 6.1
CWE-362 CWE-208
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-11037 is a MODERATE (CVSS 6.1) potential observable timing discrepancy vulnerability (CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')) affecting Wagtail libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves potential observable timing discrepancy in wagtail. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9.

CVE-2020-11037 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-11037
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 6.1
CWE Classification CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
Affected Product Wagtail
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 6.1

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-11037

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

wagtail fixed: 2.7.3 
pip install wagtail>=2.7.3
wagtail fixed: 2.8.2 
pip install wagtail>=2.8.2
wagtail fixed: 2.9 
pip install wagtail>=2.9
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 wagtail

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-11037, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show wagtail

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Wagtail in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.7.3), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition'), where the product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently. In Wagtail, 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

### Impact A potential timing attack exists on pages or documents that have been protected with a shared password through Wagtail's "Privacy" controls. This password check is performed through a character-by-character string comparison, and so an attacker who is able to measure the time taken by this check to a high degree of accuracy could potentially use timing differences to gain knowledge of the password. (This is [understood to be feasible on a local network, but not on the public internet](https://groups.google.com/d/msg/django-developers/iAaq0pvHXuA/fpUuwjK3i2wJ).) Privacy settings that restrict access to pages / documents on a per-user or per-group basis (as opposed to a shared password) are unaffected by this vulnerability. ### Patches Patched versions have been released as Wagtail 2.7.3 (for the LTS 2.7 branch), Wagtail 2.8.2 and Wagtail 2.9. ### Workarounds Site owners who are unable to upgrade to the new versions can use [user- or group-based privacy restrictions](https://docs.wagtail.io/en/stable/advanced_topics/privacy.html) to restrict access to sensitive information; these are unaffected by this vulnerability.

CVE-2020-11037 Affected Wagtail Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.7.32.8.22.9
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
wagtail
pypi/wagtail
PyPI
< 2.7.3
2.7.3
wagtail
pypi/wagtail
PyPI
≥ 2.8rc1
< 2.8.2
2.8.2
wagtail
pypi/wagtail
PyPI
≥ 2.9rc1
< 2.9
All 1 versions
2.9rc1
2.9

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/security/advisories/GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6
NVD — CVE-2020-11037 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11037
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/3c030490ed575bb9cd01dfb3a890477dcaeb2edf
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/b76ab57ee859732b9cf9287d380493ab24061090
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/ba9d424bd1ca5ce1910d3de74f5cc07214fbfb11
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/bac3cd0a26b023e595cf2959aae7da15bb5e4340
Wagtail Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/wagtail/PYSEC-2020-153.yaml
Wagtail Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-11037?
CVE-2020-11037 is a security vulnerability in Wagtail involving Potential Observable Timing Discrepancy in Wagtail under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition').
Which Wagtail versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9 across affected packages: wagtail.
What version fixes CVE-2020-11037?
Upgrading to 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is wagtail affected?
Yes, wagtail is affected in releases prior to 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9. Upgrade your dependency to 2.7.3, 2.8.2, 2.9 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-11037?
CVE-2020-11037 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-11037?
CVE-2020-11037 is classified under CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition') (The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-11037?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show wagtail'. 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-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6",
  "modified" : "2026-06-09T12:58:54Z",
  "published" : "2020-05-07T18:04:53Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-11037" ],
  "summary" : "Potential Observable Timing Discrepancy in Wagtail",
  "details" : "### Impact\nA potential timing attack exists on pages or documents that have been protected with a shared password through Wagtail's \"Privacy\" controls. This password check is performed through a character-by-character string comparison, and so an attacker who is able to measure the time taken by this check to a high degree of accuracy could potentially use timing differences to gain knowledge of the password. (This is [understood to be feasible on a local network, but not on the public internet](https://groups.google.com/d/msg/django-developers/iAaq0pvHXuA/fpUuwjK3i2wJ).)\n\nPrivacy settings that restrict access to pages / documents on a per-user or per-group basis (as opposed to a shared password) are unaffected by this vulnerability.\n\n### Patches\nPatched versions have been released as Wagtail 2.7.3 (for the LTS 2.7 branch), Wagtail 2.8.2 and Wagtail 2.9.\n\n### Workarounds\nSite owners who are unable to upgrade to the new versions can use [user- or group-based privacy restrictions](https://docs.wagtail.io/en/stable/advanced_topics/privacy.html) to restrict access to sensitive information; these are unaffected by this vulnerability.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "wagtail"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.7.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "wagtail"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.8rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.8.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "wagtail"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "2.9rc1"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.9"
      } ]
    } ],
    "versions" : [ "2.9rc1" ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/security/advisories/GHSA-jjjr-3jcw-f8v6"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11037"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/3c030490ed575bb9cd01dfb3a890477dcaeb2edf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/b76ab57ee859732b9cf9287d380493ab24061090"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/ba9d424bd1ca5ce1910d3de74f5cc07214fbfb11"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail/commit/bac3cd0a26b023e595cf2959aae7da15bb5e4340"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/wagtail/PYSEC-2020-153.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/wagtail/wagtail"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-208", "CWE-362" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-05-07T18:04:33Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-04-30T23:15:11Z"
  }
}