CVE-2020-15278: Red DiscordBot Unauthorized Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mp9m-g7qj-6vqr
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CVSS 7.7
CWE-285
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-15278 is a MODERATE (CVSS 7.7) unauthorized privilege escalation vulnerability (CWE-285: Improper Authorization) affecting Red DiscordBot libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves unauthorized privilege escalation in mod module. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.4.1.

CVE-2020-15278 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-15278
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mp9m-g7qj-6vqr
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.7
CWE Classification CWE-285: Improper Authorization
Affected Product Red DiscordBot
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.7

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-15278

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

Red-DiscordBot fixed: 3.4.1 
pip install Red-DiscordBot>=3.4.1
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 Red-DiscordBot

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-15278, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show Red-DiscordBot

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Red DiscordBot in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.4.1), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-285: Improper Authorization, where the product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action. In Red DiscordBot, 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 An unauthorized privilege escalation exploit has been discovered in the Mod module: this exploit allows Discord users with a high privilege level within the guild to bypass hierarchy checks when the application is in a specific condition that is beyond that user's control. By abusing this exploit, it's possible to perform destructive actions within the guild the user has high privileges in. ### Patches This exploit has been fixed on version & ``3.4.1``. ### Workarounds Unloading the Mod module with ``unload mod`` __or__, disabling the ``massban`` command with ``command disable global massban`` can render this exploit not accessible. We still highly recommend updating to ``3.4.1`` to completely patch this issue. ### References * https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/commit/726bfd38adfdfaef760412a68e01447b470f438b ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot](https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot) * Over on our [Discord server](https://discord.gg/red)

CVE-2020-15278 Affected Red DiscordBot Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.4.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
Red-DiscordBot
pypi/Red-DiscordBot
PyPI
< 3.4.1
3.4.1

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/security/advisories/GHSA-mp9m-g7qj-6vqr
NVD — CVE-2020-15278 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15278
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/commit/726bfd38adfdfaef760412a68e01447b470f438b
Red DiscordBot Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot
Red DiscordBot Release RELEASE
https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/releases/tag/3.4.1
Red DiscordBot Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/red-discordbot/PYSEC-2020-267.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-15278?
CVE-2020-15278 is a security vulnerability in Red DiscordBot involving Unauthorized privilege escalation in Mod module under CWE-285: Improper Authorization.
Which Red DiscordBot versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.4.1 across affected packages: Red-DiscordBot.
What version fixes CVE-2020-15278?
Upgrading to 3.4.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is Red-DiscordBot affected?
Yes, Red-DiscordBot is affected in releases prior to 3.4.1. Upgrade your dependency to 3.4.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-15278?
CVE-2020-15278 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.7 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-15278?
CVE-2020-15278 is classified under CWE-285: Improper Authorization (The product does not perform or incorrectly performs an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-15278?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show Red-DiscordBot'. 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-mp9m-g7qj-6vqr",
  "modified" : "2024-10-25T21:47:34Z",
  "published" : "2020-10-27T20:30:48Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-15278" ],
  "summary" : "Unauthorized privilege escalation in Mod module",
  "details" : "### Impact\nAn unauthorized privilege escalation exploit has been discovered in the Mod module: this exploit allows Discord users with a high privilege level within the guild to bypass hierarchy checks when the application is in a specific condition that is beyond that user's control. By abusing this exploit, it's possible to perform destructive actions within the guild the user has high privileges in.\n\n### Patches\nThis exploit has been fixed on version & ``3.4.1``.\n\n### Workarounds\nUnloading the Mod module with ``unload mod`` __or__, disabling the ``massban`` command with ``command disable global massban`` can render this exploit not accessible. We still highly recommend updating to ``3.4.1`` to completely patch this issue.\n\n### References\n* https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/commit/726bfd38adfdfaef760412a68e01447b470f438b\n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot](https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot)\n* Over on our [Discord server](https://discord.gg/red)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "Red-DiscordBot"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.4.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/security/advisories/GHSA-mp9m-g7qj-6vqr"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15278"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/commit/726bfd38adfdfaef760412a68e01447b470f438b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/Cog-Creators/Red-DiscordBot/releases/tag/3.4.1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/red-discordbot/PYSEC-2020-267.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-285" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2020-10-27T20:26:42Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}