# CVE-2020-14299: Auth bypass in picketbox

> Attackers can bypass authentication in JBoss EAP using arbitrary credentials when legacy security realms are configured, potentially impacting system availability.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 16 Oct 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vx2g-h7fh-g3vj

## What is CVE-2020-14299?

CVE-2020-14299 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, published on 16 Oct 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A flaw was found in JBoss EAP, where the authentication configuration is set-up using a legacy SecurityRealm, to delegate to a legacy PicketBox SecurityDomain, and then reloaded to admin-only mode. This flaw allows an attacker to perform a complete authentication bypass by using an arbitrary user and password. The highest threat to vulnerability is to system availability.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-14299?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, Redhat Openshift Application Runtimes, Redhat Single Sign-On.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-14299?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2020-14299 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-14299 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform

- [CVE-2017-12149](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-12149/): Red Hat JBoss Application Server Remote Code Execution (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-1428](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-1428/): Red Hat JBoss Information Disclosure (medium 5.9, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2010-0738](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0738/): Red Hat JBoss Authentication Bypass (low 3.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2016-3690](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3690/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-7504](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-7504/): Deserialization in JBoss (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-14299 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-14299 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform, published on 16 Oct 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-14299 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Redhat Jboss Enterprise Application Platform. 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-2020-14299/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14299/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-14299
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-14299
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-14299

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14299/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.