cloud-init through 19.4 relies on Mersenne Twister for a random password, which makes it…
Priority LOW 25CWE-330Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 2 fixed, 1 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
cloud-init through 19.4 relies on Mersenne Twister for a random password, which makes it easier for attackers to predict passwords, because rand_str in cloudinit/util.py calls the random.choice function.
Why it matters now
EPSS 0.00435 37th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Red Hat: 2 advisoriesRed Hat: 2 fixed, 1 without a fix
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
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
Remediation
Red Hat 2 advisories
- RHSA-2020:4650 Released 2020-11-04 · Red Hat rating Moderatecloud-init security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) cloud-init-19.4-11.el8
- RHSA-2020:3898 Released 2020-09-29 · Red Hat rating Moderatecloud-init security, bug fix, and enhancement update
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) cloud-init-19.4-7.el7
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux AppStream (v. 8) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:4650 |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) | Fixed | RHSA-2020:3898 |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-8631
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-2r47-hhff-7qcp
References
Sources
- CVE-2020-8631 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-8631 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-2r47-hhff-7qcp · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2020-8631 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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