Security Resilience

CVE-2020-1956

RCE in Apache Kylin 2.3.0 – 2.3.2

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRCECommand Injection
Published
22 May 2020
Modified
23 October 2025
KEV Added
25 March 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.97 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 90 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-1956 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Apache Kylin. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique NTDS (T1003.003); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Apache Kylin versions 2.3.0 through 2.6.5 and 3.0.1 contain a command injection vulnerability in multiple RESTful APIs. These endpoints concatenate operating system commands directly with unsanitized user input strings, enabling arbitrary command execution without validation or protection, as classified under CWE-78.

An authenticated attacker with network access and low privileges can supply crafted input to the affected APIs and execute any operating system command on the server. This grants full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host system, consistent with the CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8.

Public advisories and patch information have been distributed via Apache Kylin commit and user mailing lists as well as related security forums referenced in the CVE record. No details on observed real-world exploitation are provided in the available information.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Apache Kylin 2.3.0, and releases up to 2.6.5 and 3.0.1 has some restful apis which will concatenate os command with the user input string, a user is likely to be able to execute any os command without any protection or…

more

validation.

CWE(s)
CWE-78
KEV Date Added
25 March 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.003 NTDS Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access or create a copy of the Active Directory domain database in order to steal credential information, as well as obtain other information about domain members such as devices, users, and access rights.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.004 SSH Lateral Movement
Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1021.008 Direct Cloud VM Connections Lateral Movement
Adversaries may leverage [Valid Accounts](https://attack.
attack.mitre.org →
T1027.001 Binary Padding Stealth
Adversaries may use binary padding to add junk data and change the on-disk representation of malware.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2022-24697Same product: Apache Kylin
CVE-2026-62392Same product: Apache Kylin
CVE-2022-33891Same vendor: Apacheboth on KEV
CVE-2020-11978Same vendor: Apacheboth on KEV
CVE-2021-21315Same vendor: Apacheboth on KEV
CVE-2026-91006Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2026-47359Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2015-7611Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2025-54941Same vendor: Apache
CVE-2022-24288Same vendor: Apache

Affected Assets

apache
kylin
2.4.0, 2.4.1, 3.0.0, 3.0.1 · 2.3.0 — 2.3.2 · 2.5.0 — 2.5.2 · 2.6.0 — 2.6.5

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

—

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-78

Platform-independent apps typically execute inside a managed runtime or sandbox that restricts direct OS command execution, reducing the ability to exploit OS command injection.

SI-10 Information Input Validation
addresses: CWE-78

Validates inputs to block special elements that would alter OS command execution.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
blocks

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

References