CVE-2020-36191: Jupyterhub Cross-Site Request Forgery Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7xx3-qp5w-fw96
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CVSS 4.5
CWE-352
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-36191 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.5) cross-site request forgery vulnerability (CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)) affecting Jupyterhub libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves cross-site request forgery in jupyterhub. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.2.0b1.

CVE-2020-36191 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-36191
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7xx3-qp5w-fw96
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.5
CWE Classification CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Affected Product Jupyterhub
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.5

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

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

How to Fix CVE-2020-36191

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

jupyterhub fixed: 1.2.0b1 
pip install jupyterhub>=1.2.0b1
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 jupyterhub

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-36191, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show jupyterhub

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Jupyterhub in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.2.0b1), your application is affected.

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

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), where the web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. In Jupyterhub, 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

JupyterHub 1.1.0 allows CSRF in the admin panel via a request that lacks an `_xsrf` field, as demonstrated by a /hub/api/user request (to add or remove a user account).

CVE-2020-36191 Affected Jupyterhub Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.2.0b1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
jupyterhub
pypi/jupyterhub
PyPI
< 1.2.0b1
1.2.0b1

References

NVD — CVE-2020-36191 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36191
Jupyterhub Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub/issues/3304
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-qp5w-fw96
Jupyterhub Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub
Jupyterhub Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub/releases
Jupyterhub Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/jupyterhub/PYSEC-2021-67.yaml

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-36191?
CVE-2020-36191 is a security vulnerability in Jupyterhub involving Cross-Site Request Forgery in JupyterHub under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Which Jupyterhub versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.2.0b1 across affected packages: jupyterhub.
What version fixes CVE-2020-36191?
Upgrading to 1.2.0b1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is jupyterhub affected?
Yes, jupyterhub is affected in releases prior to 1.2.0b1. Upgrade your dependency to 1.2.0b1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36191?
CVE-2020-36191 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.5 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-36191?
CVE-2020-36191 is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-36191?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show jupyterhub'. 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-7xx3-qp5w-fw96",
  "modified" : "2024-09-24T21:00:21Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-24T17:38:59Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-36191" ],
  "summary" : "Cross-Site Request Forgery in JupyterHub",
  "details" : "JupyterHub 1.1.0 allows CSRF in the admin panel via a request that lacks an `_xsrf` field, as demonstrated by a /hub/api/user request (to add or remove a user account).",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:A/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "jupyterhub"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.2.0b1"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36191"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub/issues/3304"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7xx3-qp5w-fw96"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jupyterhub/jupyterhub/releases"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/jupyterhub/PYSEC-2021-67.yaml"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-352" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-06-23T18:03:58Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-01-13T04:15:00Z"
  }
}