CVE-2020-5227 | Feedgen Vulnerable to XML Denial of Service Attacks

Exp

Feedgen (python feedgen) before 0.9.0 is susceptible to XML Denial of Service attacks. The *feedgen* library allows supplying XML as content for some of the available fields. This XML will be parsed and integrated into the existing XML tree. During this process, feedgen is vulnerable to XML Denial of Service Attacks (e.g. XML Bomb). This becomes a concern in particular if feedgen is used to include content from untrused sources and if XML (including XHTML) is directly included instead of providing plain tex content only. This problem has been fixed in feedgen 0.9.0 which disallows XML entity expansion and external resources.

Published: 2020-01-28 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-5227 is rated Exploit Available (59.2/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.64%). Core evidence: 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2020-5227

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-5227

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 0.67% 1.64% +0.97%
2 2025-11-21 0.80% 0.67% -0.13%
3 2025-11-18 0.80%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-5227

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.4 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
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.
0.7 3.6 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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: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.
3.9 3.6 [email protected]
5.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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:N)
No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
10.0 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-5227

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2020-5227

GHSA-g8q7-xv52-hf9f · Severity: medium · Ecosystem: pip — Feedgen Vulnerable to XML Denial of Service Attacks

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-5227

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
feedgen_project feedgen < 0.9.0 cpe:2.3:a:feedgen_project:feedgen:*:*:*:*:*:python:*:*

References for CVE-2020-5227

cvelogic Threat Intelligence