# CVE-2020-11710: Misconfiguration in n/a

> The Kong admin API may be exposed on public interfaces if the Docker Compose template is used without following security documentation, allowing unauthorized access.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Apr 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5rc2-w7v5-6rgm

## What is CVE-2020-11710?

CVE-2020-11710 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in docker-kong (for Kong) through 2.0.3. The admin API port may be accessible on interfaces other than 127.0.0.1. NOTE: The vendor argue that this CVE is not a vulnerability because it has an inaccurate bug scope and patch links. “1) Inaccurate Bug Scope - The issue scope was on Kong's docker-compose template, and not Kong's docker image itself. In reality, this issue is not associated with any version of the Kong gateway. As such, the description stating ‘An issue was discovered in docker-kong (for Kong) through 2.0.3.’ is incorrect. This issue only occurs if a user decided to spin up Kong via docker-compose without following the security documentation. The docker-compose template is meant for users to quickly get started with Kong, and is meant for development purposes only. 2) Incorrect Patch Links - The CVE currently points to a documentation improvement as a “Patch” link: https://github.com/Kong/docs.konghq.com/commit/d693827c32144943a2f45abc017c1321b33ff611.This link actually points to an improvement Kong Inc made for fool-proofing. However, instructions for how to protect the admin API were already well-documented here: https://docs.konghq.com/2.0.x/secure-admin-api/#network-layer-access-restrictions , which was first published back in 2017 (as shown in this commit: https://github.com/Kong/docs.konghq.com/commit/e99cf875d875dd84fdb751079ac37882c9972949) Lastly, the hyperlink to https://github.com/Kong/kong (an unrelated Github Repo to this issue) on the Hyperlink list does not include any meaningful information on this topic.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-11710?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Konghq Docker-Kong.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-11710?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-11710 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-11710 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-11710 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Kong Admin <=2.03 - Admin API Access (nuclei): http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-11710.yaml

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-11710 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-11710 is a critical vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Apr 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2020-11710 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11710/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11710/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-11710
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11710
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-11710

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-11710/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.