# CVE-2020-8251: Denial of service in Node

> Attackers can cause Node.js servers to reject new connections by delaying HTTP request submissions, leading to service unavailability.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Sep 2020
- **Updated:** 30 Apr 2025
- **Also known as:** BIT-node-2020-8251, BIT-node-min-2020-8251, GHSA-9cwr-72m4-73jq

## What is CVE-2020-8251?

CVE-2020-8251 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 18 Sep 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Node.js < 14.11.0 is vulnerable to HTTP denial of service (DoS) attacks based on delayed requests submission which can make the server unable to accept new connections.

Weakness: CWE-400 (Uncontrolled Resource Consumption)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8251?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including node and node-min. It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `node` | Bitnami | From 14.0.0 | 14.11.0 |
| `node-min` | Bitnami | From 14.0.0 | 14.11.0 |

Products: Fedoraproject Fedora, Nodejs Node.js.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8251?

Upgrade node to 14.11.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2020-8251 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8251 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Fedoraproject Fedora

- [CVE-2024-4577](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4577/): PHP-CGI OS Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-39226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39226/): Grafana Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-5544](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-5544/): VMware ESXi and Horizon DaaS OpenSLP Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4947](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4947/): Google Chromium V8 Type Confusion (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-4671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-4671/): Google Chromium Visuals Use-After-Free (critical 9.6, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8251 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8251 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Fedoraproject Fedora, published on 18 Sep 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-2020-8251 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- node (Bitnami): affected from 14.0.0; fixed in 14.11.0
- node-min (Bitnami): affected from 14.0.0; fixed in 14.11.0

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-2020-8251/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8251/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8251
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8251
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8251

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8251/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.