CVE-2020-5231 · threatengine.sh

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CVE-2020-52311

In Opencast before 7.6 and 8.1, users with the role ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN can use the user-utils endpoint to create new user

In Opencast before 7.6 and 8.1, users with the role ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN can use the user-utils endpoint to create new users not including the role ROLE_ADMIN. ROLE_COURSE_ADMIN is a non-standard role in Opencast which is referenced neither in the documentation nor in any code (except for tests) but only in the security configuration. From the name - implying an admin for a specific course - users would never expect that this role allows user creation.

This issue is fixed in 7.6 and 8.1 which both ship a new default security configuration.

MEDIUM · CVSS 4.8 EPSS 0.00625

EPSS exploitation odds0.62% · top 54%

Schedule remediation

Public exploit or PoC is available

No Sigma yet — build one → YARA rules0

Look this up elsewhere - one-click external pivots

NVD CVE.org CISA Exploit-DB GitHub PoC VulnCheck KEV GreyNoise

▸ How to read a CVE - triage first, then detect and patch

This page is every public fact about CVE-2020-5231, cross-linked. Its job is to answer one question fast - does this need my attention now? - and then hand you the two things you do about it. Here is how an analyst reads it.

Triage: should I act now? Four signals, and they are not interchangeable:

CVSSseverity - how bad it is IF exploited, 0-10. A high CVSS alone is not urgency; a flaw can be a perfect 10 and never actually be attacked. EPSSprobability - a model’s estimate of the chance it is exploited in the next 30 days, 0-1. This is the “will it actually happen” signal. CISA KEVconfirmed - it is being exploited in the wild right now. The strongest signal on the page; KEV beats any score. Weaponisedavailability - public exploits / PoCs, and especially Metasploit modules rated Excellent / Great. Reliable, packaged exploit code means low-skill attackers can use it today.

How they combine: KEV, or a dependable Metasploit module, means patch now regardless of CVSS. High CVSS + low EPSS + no exploit is real but not an emergency - schedule it. Low CVSS but KEV-listed still gets patched now. The verdict above already weighed these for you; this is how it got there.

Then what - two workflows:

Detectwhen you cannot patch today, follow this CVE to the ATT&CK techniques it enables, then Build a SIEM detection (the green button) - author a rule, test it in Atomic, deploy it. That buys visibility while the patch waits. PatchAffected products / packages tell you if you are exposed; Fixed versions by distribution and Vendor advisories give the exact version that closes it.

Reading order for the panels below: verdict + badges, then Public exploits / Metasploit (is it weaponised), then ATT&CK techniques + Sigma / IDS rules (can I detect it), then Affected products / packages + Fixed versions (am I exposed, what patches it), then Threat actors / IOCs (who uses it), then Scoring & timeline / references (the evidence).

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Exploitation evidence

1 of 7 sources

Corroboration score 8/100 · emerging. This counts how many independent sources have exploitation evidence, and separates two different things: confirmed in-the-wild use (CISA KEV, Microsoft MSRC, ransomware activity) from exploit / PoC availability (Metasploit, ExploitDB, Nuclei, public PoCs). A template or PoC existing means an attack is possible and easy - it is not, on its own, proof the CVE is being exploited in the wild.

Exploit / PoC available

public PoC

↗

Exploitation momentum

16 days of EPSS

dormant

Flat and low - no real exploitation pressure. This reads the direction and speed of EPSS over time, which can move before EPSS itself peaks or before CISA lists it.

Window

EPSS 0.006 → 0.006 peak 0.006 velocity +0.000

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Severity & exploitation scoring

View on NVD →

CVSS base score

4.8

MEDIUMCVSS v3.1 · [email protected]

EPSS exploitation probability

0.62%

Top 54%odds of exploitation in the next 30 days

CVSS metric silhouette

shape grows toward worst-case

SSVC triage

No SSVC vulnrichment for this CVE. CISA's Vulnrichment program scores newer CVEs (~2024 onwards) plus selected older critical ones. Use the EPSS probability + KEV status to triage instead.

CVSS vector breakdown

Exploitability - how they get in

Attack Vector

Network Adjacent Local Physical

Attack Complexity

Low High

Privileges Required

None Low High

User Interaction

None Required

Scope

Unchanged Changed

Impact - what breaks

Confidentiality

None Low High

Integrity

None Low High

Availability

None Low High

VECTORCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Lifecycle

30 Jan 2020Published to NVD
17 Jun 2026Last modified

Every entry is a recorded date - NVD publish/modify, CISA KEV add, public exploit disclosure. No inferred events.

Attack path

Full kill chain

→

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Public Exploits & PoCs

These PoC and exploit links come from public sources and are not verified to be safe or functional. Review the code before running anything, and treat unverified entries as untrusted. Signed-in users mark whether it works, rate 1-10, and can report malware with a required reason that becomes a public comment.

poc Public PoC (nvd-reference)↗ date unknown

Works? no reports yet

Rating -

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ATT&CK techniques

Techniques this CVE enables. Pills with a solid outline are high confidence - named directly in ATT&CK or Nuclei, or human-curated by CTID; the rest are inferred from the weakness type using MITRE's CVE Mapping Methodology and the CWE → CAPEC chain. Broad, generic-weakness guesses are filtered out. A small N× marks a technique that N independent sources agree on.

T1078.001 · Default Accounts T1136 · Create Account T1083 · File and Directory Discovery T1574.010 · Services File Permissions Weakness

▤ Build a SIEM detection for these techniques