CVE-2020-11998

A regression has been introduced in the commit preventing JMX re-bind. By passing an empty environment map to RMIConnectorServer, instead of the map that contains the authentication credentials, it leaves ActiveMQ open to the following attack: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/management/agent.html "A remote client could create a javax.management.loading.MLet MBean and use it to create new MBeans from arbitrary URLs, at least if there is no security manager. In other words, a rogue remote client could make your Java application execute arbitrary code." Mitigation: Upgrade to Apache ActiveMQ 5.15.13

Published: 2020-09-10 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-11998 is rated High Risk (78.8/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 51.23%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +44.31% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-11998

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 6.91% 51.23% +44.31%
2 2026-02-27 8.03% 6.91% -1.12%
3 2025-11-21 8.03%

Full EPSS history (25 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-11998

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-11998

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2020-11998

GHSA-wqfh-9m4g-7x6x · Severity: critical · Ecosystem: maven — Remote code execution in Apache ActiveMQ

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-11998

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2020-11998 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (activemq), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, bullseye, sid, trixie): resolved 4. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-11998
ubuntu medium CVE-2020-11998 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (activemq), 16 status rows across 16 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 8, needs-triage 7, DNE 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-11998

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-11998

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache activemq 5.15.12 cpe:2.3:a:apache:activemq:5.15.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_diameter_signaling_router >= 8.0.0, <= 8.5.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_diameter_signaling_router:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_element_manager >= 8.2.0, <= 8.2.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_element_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_session_report_manager >= 8.0.0, <= 8.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_session_report_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle communications_session_route_manager >= 8.0.0, <= 8.2.2 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_session_route_manager:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle enterprise_repository 11.1.1.7.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:enterprise_repository:11.1.1.7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle flexcube_private_banking 12.0.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_private_banking:12.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
oracle flexcube_private_banking 12.1.0 cpe:2.3:a:oracle:flexcube_private_banking:12.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-11998

cvelogic Threat Intelligence