CVE-2020-13938 | Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges

Apache HTTP Server versions 2.4.0 to 2.4.46 Unprivileged local users can stop httpd on Windows

Published: 2021-06-10 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-13938 is rated Moderate Risk (60.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 11.77%, 96th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. EPSS rose +11.59% 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-2020-13938

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 0.19% 11.77% +11.59%
2 2026-06-07 0.11% 0.19% +0.08%
3 2025-12-20 0.11%

Full EPSS history (24 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-13938

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 3.6 [email protected]
2.1 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
3.9 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-13938

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-13938

vendor priority summary link
alpine medium CVE-2020-13938: 1 source package rows (apache2); 10 state rows across 10 repos (3.10-main, 3.11-main, 3.12-main, 3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 10, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2020-13938
debian unimportant CVE-2020-13938 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (apache2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-13938
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-13938
ubuntu medium CVE-2020-13938 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (apache2), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 9. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-13938

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-13938

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache http_server >= 2.4.0, <= 2.4.46 cpe:2.3:a:apache:http_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator < 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_10:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_11:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_12:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_2:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_3:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_4:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_5:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_6:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_7:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_8:*:*:*:*:*:*
mcafee epolicy_orchestrator 5.10.0 cpe:2.3:a:mcafee:epolicy_orchestrator:5.10.0:update_9:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp cloud_backup cpe:2.3:a:netapp:cloud_backup:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-13938

cvelogic Threat Intelligence