# CVE-2020-8595: Auth bypass in n/a

> Attackers can bypass JWT authentication in Istio by appending special characters to URIs, gaining unauthorized access to protected HTTP paths.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Feb 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6mcc-fxc5-58cv, RHSA-2020:0477

## What is CVE-2020-8595?

CVE-2020-8595 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 Feb 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Istio versions 1.2.10 (End of Life) and prior, 1.3 through 1.3.7, and 1.4 through 1.4.3 allows authentication bypass. The Authentication Policy exact-path matching logic can allow unauthorized access to HTTP paths even if they are configured to be only accessed after presenting a valid JWT token. For example, an attacker can add a ? or # character to a URI that would otherwise satisfy an exact-path match.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8595?

It affects 2 products.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `servicemesh-proxy` | Red Hat:service_mesh:1.0::el8 | All versions | 0:1.0.7-1.el8 |

Products: Istio Istio, Redhat Openshift Service Mesh.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8595?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2020-8595 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8595 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2021-31921](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-31921/): Missing authorization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2021-34824](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-34824/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-31837](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31837/): Istio JWKS resolver to prevent private key material from being exposed when JWKS fetch fails. (high 8.7)
- [CVE-2021-39155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39155/): Authorization Policy Bypass Due to Case Insensitive Host Comparison (high 8.3)
- [CVE-2021-39156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-39156/): Fragments in Path May Lead to Authorization Policy Bypass (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8595 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8595 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in n/a, published on 12 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-2020-8595 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2020-8595/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8595/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8595
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8595
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8595

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8595/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.