# CVE-2020-5863: Missing authorization in NGINX Controller

> Unauthenticated attackers can create unprivileged user accounts in NGINX Controller, allowing them to upload new licenses to the system.

- **Severity:** High 8.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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:** 27 Mar 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-92v9-882v-4qfr

## What is CVE-2020-5863?

CVE-2020-5863 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Netapp Cloud Backup, published on 27 Mar 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In NGINX Controller versions prior to 3.2.0, an unauthenticated attacker with network access to the Controller API can create unprivileged user accounts. The user which is created is only able to upload a new license to the system but cannot view or modify any other components of the system.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5863?

It affects 2 products.


Products: F5 Nginx Controller, Netapp Cloud Backup.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5863?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5863 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5863 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5863 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Netapp Cloud Backup

- [CVE-2020-27730](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27730/): Path traversal in NGINX Controller (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-5901](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5901/): Cross-site scripting in NGINX Controller (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2020-5900](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5900/): Cross-site request forgery in NGINX Controller (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-5894](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5894/): Security feature bypass in NGINX Controller (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2020-5867](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5867/): Supply chain in NGINX Controller (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5863 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5863 is a high-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Netapp Cloud Backup, published on 27 Mar 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-2020-5863 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Netapp Cloud Backup. 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-2020-5863/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5863/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5863
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5863
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5863

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5863/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.