CVE-2020-36999

HighPublic PoC

Published: 29 January 2026

Published

29 January 2026

Modified

15 April 2026

KEV Added

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Patch

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CVSS Score v4 8.8 CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Score 0.0030 21.9th percentile

Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2020-36999 is a high-severity SQL Injection (CWE-89) vulnerability in Elaniin CMS (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 21.9th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 IA-2 (Identification and Authentication (Organizational Users)) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).

Deeper analysis

Elaniin CMS version 1.0 is affected by CVE-2020-36999, an authentication bypass vulnerability rooted in SQL injection within the login.php component. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate the email and password parameters on the login page using a crafted payload such as '=''or', enabling them to circumvent authentication checks and gain direct access to the administrative dashboard.

Remote, unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network with low complexity, as indicated by its CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N) and association with CWE-89 (SQL Injection). Successful exploitation provides high confidentiality impact through unauthorized dashboard access, with limited integrity impact and no availability disruption, potentially exposing sensitive administrative functions.

Mitigation guidance is available in vendor and third-party advisories, including the VulnCheck advisory at https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/elaniin-cms-authentication-bypass, the Elaniin website at https://elaniin.com/, and the GitHub repository at https://github.com/elaniin/CMS. A proof-of-concept exploit is publicly documented at https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48705.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-30910

Vulnerability details

Elaniin CMS 1.0 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to access the dashboard by manipulating the login page with SQL injection. Attackers can bypass authentication by sending crafted email and password parameters with '=''or' payload to login.php, granting…

unauthorized access to the system.

CWE(s): CWE-89

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.

attack.mitre.org →

Why these techniques?

SQL injection in public-facing login.php enables remote authentication bypass for unauthorized admin dashboard access, directly facilitating T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0