# CVE-2020-3944: Auth bypass in vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter

> Unauthenticated remote attackers can bypass authentication in the Horizon Adapter due to improper trust store configuration.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9468-5fg2-67xr

## What is CVE-2020-3944?

CVE-2020-3944 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in VMWare vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter, published on 19 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter (6.7.x prior to 6.7.1 and 6.6.x prior to 6.6.1) has an improper trust store configuration leading to authentication bypass. An unauthenticated remote attacker who has network access to vRealize Operations, with the Horizon Adapter running, may be able to bypass Adapter authentication.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-3944?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Vmware Vrealize Operations.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-3944?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-3944 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-3944 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3944 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in VMWare vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter

- [CVE-2016-7457](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7457/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-3943](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3943/): Code injection in vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-20856](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-20856/): Cross-site request forgery in VMware vRealize Operations (vROps) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-31673](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31673/): Information disclosure in VMware vRealize Operations (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2016-7462](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-7462/): Deserialization in n/a (high 8.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-3944 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-3944 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in VMWare vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter, published on 19 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-3944 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: VMWare vRealize Operations for Horizon Adapter. 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-2020-3944/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3944/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-3944
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3944
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-3944

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-3944/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.