# CVE-2020-27220: Missing authorization in Eclipse Hono

> Authenticated devices can receive unauthorized command and control messages intended for other devices within the same tenant due to missing authorization checks.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 14 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2jmj-6ff4-3p3w

## What is CVE-2020-27220?

CVE-2020-27220 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in The Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Hono, published on 14 Jan 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Eclipse Hono AMQP and MQTT protocol adapters do not check whether an authenticated gateway device is authorized to receive command & control messages when it has subscribed only to commands for a specific device. The missing check involves verifying that the command target device is configured giving permission for the gateway device to act on its behalf. This means an authenticated device of a certain tenant, notably also a non-gateway device acting like a gateway, may receive command & control messages targeted at a different device of the same tenant without corresponding permissions getting checked.

Weakness: CWE-862 (Missing Authorization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-27220?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Eclipse Hono.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-27220?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-27220 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-27220 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27220 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in The Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Hono

- [CVE-2020-27217](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27217/): Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input in Eclipse Hono (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-27220 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-27220 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in The Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Hono, published on 14 Jan 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27220 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: The Eclipse Foundation Eclipse Hono. 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-2020-27220/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27220/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27220
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27220
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-27220

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27220/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.