# CVE-2020-5218: Ability in Sylius to switch channels via GET parameter enabled in production environments

> Attackers can bypass production security restrictions to switch channels via GET parameters due to a configuration resolution bug in Sylius.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024

## What is CVE-2020-5218?

CVE-2020-5218 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Sylius, published on 27 Jan 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Affected versions of Sylius give attackers the ability to switch channels via the _channel_code GET parameter in production environments. This was meant to be enabled only when kernel.debug is set to true. However, if no sylius_channel.debug is set explicitly in the configuration, the default value which is kernel.debug will be not resolved and cast to boolean, enabling this debug feature even if that parameter is set to false. Patch has been provided for Sylius 1.3.x and newer - 1.3.16, 1.4.12, 1.5.9, 1.6.5. Versions older than 1.3 are not covered by our security support anymore.

Weakness: CWE-444 (Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5218?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Sylius Sylius.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5218?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2020-5218 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5218 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Sylius

- [CVE-2026-31824](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31824/): Sylius has a Promotion Usage Limit Bypass via Race Condition (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2024-57610](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-57610/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2026-31820](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31820/): Sylius affected by IDOR in Cart and Checkout LiveComponents (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2022-24743](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-24743/): Insufficient Session Expiration in Sylius (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2026-31819](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31819/): Sylius has an Open Redirect via Referer Header (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5218 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5218 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Sylius, published on 27 Jan 2020. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5218 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Sylius. 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-2020-5218/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5218/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5218
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5218
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5218

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5218/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.