CVE-2020-5217
4.4 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2020-5217 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting twitter secure_headers. It was published on January 23, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.4 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.4, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In Secure Headers (RubyGem secure_headers), a directive injection vulnerability is present in versions before 3.8.0, 5.1.0, and 6.2.0. If user-supplied input was passed into append/override_content_security_policy_directives, a semicolon could be injected leading to directive injection. This could be used to e.g. override a script-src directive. Duplicate directives are ignored and the first one wins. The directives in secure_headers are sorted alphabetically so they pretty much all come before script-src. A previously undefined directive would receive a value even if SecureHeaders::OPT_OUT was supplied. The fixed versions will silently convert the semicolons to spaces and emit a deprecation warning when this happens. This will result in innocuous browser console messages if being exploited/accidentally used. In future releases, we will raise application errors resulting in 500s. Depending on what major version you are using, the fixed versions are 6.2.0, 5.1.0, 3.8.0.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from twitter. Update secure_headers to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| secure_headers | >= 0, < 3.8.0 | Affected |
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-5217?
CVE-2020-5217 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting twitter secure_headers. It was published on January 23, 2020 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.4 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2020-5217?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.4, rated MEDIUM. It can be exploited remotely over the network. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-5217?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from twitter. Update secure_headers to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-5217?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-5217 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
Automated penetration testing that runs continuously, not just quarterly.
AI-driven PR review catches vulnerable dependencies before they ship.
Browser-based exploitation validates findings with real proof-of-concept.
Related MEDIUM CVEs from 2020
View all →In postfix-mta-sts-resolver before 0.5.1, All users can receive incorrect response from daemon under
Potential security vulnerabilities have been identified in HPE OpenCall Media Platform (OCMP) result
In jQuery versions greater than or equal to 1.0.3 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML containing <option>
In jQuery starting with 1.12.0 and before 3.5.0, passing HTML from untrusted sources - even after sa
In Wiki.js before 2.3.81, there is a stored XSS in the Markdown editor. An editor with write access
The shell subsystem contains a buffer overflow, whereby an adversary with physical access to the dev
In FreeRDP less than or equal to 2.0.0, an Integer Overflow to Buffer Overflow exists. When using /v
In Saleor Storefront before version 2.10.3, request data used to authenticate customers was inadvert
Privilege Escalation vulnerability in the installer in McAfee McAfee Total Protection (MTP) trial pr
Authentication Protection Bypass vulnerability in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior t
Dell Inspiron 15 7579 2-in-1 BIOS versions prior to 1.31.0 contain an Improper SMM communication buf
Azure Sphere Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability