Python 2.7 through 2.7.17, 3.5 through 3.5.9, 3.6 through 3.6.10, 3.7 through 3.7.6, and…
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 16 fixed, 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat. Impact type from CWE-400.
Summary
Python 2.7 through 2.7.17, 3.5 through 3.5.9, 3.6 through 3.6.10, 3.7 through 3.7.6, and 3.8 through 3.8.1 allows an HTTP server to conduct Regular Expression Denial of Service (ReDoS) attacks against a client because of urllib.request.AbstractBasicAuthHandler catastrophic backtracking.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 11
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 2.7.0 – 2.7.17; 3.5.0 – 3.5.9; 3.6.0 – 3.6.10; 3.7.0 – 3.7.6; 3.8.0 – 3.8.1 | Vulnerable | python-pillow |
| cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 15.1 | Vulnerable | openSUSE |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 12.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 14.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* | 16.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 18.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 19.10 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* | 20.04 | Vulnerable | Canonical |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 31 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
| cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 32 | Vulnerable | Fedoraproject |
- cpe:2.3:a:python:python:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 2.7.0 – 2.7.17; 3.5.0 – 3.5.9; 3.6.0 – 3.6.10; 3.7.0 – 3.7.6; 3.8.0 – 3.8.1 Vulnerable ·python-pillow
- cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 15.1 Vulnerable ·openSUSE
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:12.04:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 12.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:14.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 14.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:* Versions 16.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 18.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:19.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 19.10 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:20.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:* Versions 20.04 Vulnerable ·Canonical
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:31:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 31 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
- cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:32:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 32 Vulnerable ·Fedoraproject
Remediation
Red Hat 4 advisories
- RHSA-2020:4641 Released 2020-11-04 · Red Hat rating Moderatepython38:3.8 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) Cython-0.29.14-4.module+el8.2.0+5234+f98739b6.src::python38:3.8, PyYAML-5.3.1-1.module+el8.3.0+7187+a27ec44b.src::python38:3.8, babel-2.7.0-10.module+el8.2.0+5234+f98739b6.src::python38:3.8 +47
- RHSA-2020:4433 Released 2020-11-04 · Red Hat rating Moderatepython3 security and bug fix update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) platform-python-3.6.8-31.el8, platform-python-debug-3.6.8-31.el8, platform-python-devel-3.6.8-31.el8 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) platform-python-3.6.8-31.el8, python3-3.6.8-31.el8, python3-libs-3.6.8-31.el8 +1
- RHSA-2020:4285 Released 2020-10-19 · Red Hat rating Moderaterh-python36 security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el6, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el6, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el6 +6
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el7 +6
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el7 +6
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.7) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el7 +6
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el6, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el6, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el6 +6
- Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) rh-python36-python-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-debug-3.6.12-1.el7, rh-python36-python-devel-3.6.12-1.el7 +6
Show 1 more Red Hat advisories
- RHSA-2020:3888 Released 2020-09-29 · Red Hat rating Moderatepython3 security update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-libs-3.6.8-17.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-debug-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-devel-3.6.8-17.el7 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-libs-3.6.8-17.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-debug-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-devel-3.6.8-17.el7 +3
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-libs-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-libs-3.6.8-17.el7.ppc
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-3.6.8-17.el7.ppc, python3-debug-3.6.8-17.el7 +9
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-libs-3.6.8-17.el7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) python3-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-debug-3.6.8-17.el7, python3-devel-3.6.8-17.el7 +3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Software Collections | Affected | No fix planned: Will not fix |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4433, RHSA-2020:4641 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux BaseOS (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4433 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation Optional (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3888 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.6) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 6) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
| Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4285 |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Software Collections
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-8492
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-wh3w-rqc7-4mpf
- 2026-10-07 CVSS score added · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-07 Weakness changed · CISA ADP
- 2026-10-07 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Advisory 11
- https://bugs.python.org/issue39503
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20200221-0001/
- openSUSE-SU-2020:0274
- USN-4333-1
- USN-4333-2
- GLSA-202005-09
- FEDORA-2020-98e0f0f11b
- FEDORA-2020-6a88dad4a0
- FEDORA-2020-8bdd3fd7a4
- FEDORA-2020-ea5bdbcc90
- [debian-lts-announce] 20200715 [SECURITY] [DLA 2280-1] python3.5 security update
Sources
- CVE-2020-8492 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-8492 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-wh3w-rqc7-4mpf · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-8492 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences