CVE-2020-8912 | In-band key negotiation issue in AWS S3 Crypto SDK for GoLang

Exp

A vulnerability in the in-band key negotiation exists in the AWS S3 Crypto SDK for GoLang versions prior to V2. An attacker with write access to the targeted bucket can change the encryption algorithm of an object in the bucket, which can then allow them to change AES-GCM to AES-CTR. Using this in combination with a decryption oracle can reveal the authentication key used by AES-GCM as decrypting the GMAC tag leaves the authentication key recoverable as an algebraic equation. It is recommended to update your SDK to V2 or later, and re-encrypt your files.

Published: 2020-08-11 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-8912 is rated Exploit Available (50/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.23%). 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-2020-8912

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-8912

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 0.14% 0.23% +0.09%
2 2025-11-21 0.01% 0.14% +0.13%
3 2025-11-18 0.01%

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-8912

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
2.5 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.0 1.4 [email protected]
2.5 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.0 1.4 [email protected]
2.1 2.0 LOW
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N 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:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:N)
No integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:N)
No availability impact.
3.9 2.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-8912

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2020-8912

GHSA-7f33-f4f5-xwgw · Severity: low · Ecosystem: go — In-band key negotiation issue in AWS S3 Crypto SDK for golang

OS Trackers for CVE-2020-8912

vendor priority summary link
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-8912

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-8912

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
amazon aws_s3_crypto_sdk < 2.0 cpe:2.3:a:amazon:aws_s3_crypto_sdk:*:*:*:*:*:golang:*:*

References for CVE-2020-8912

cvelogic Threat Intelligence