Joomla\!Application · Joomla
CVE-2020-10238
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Joomla! before 3.9.16. Various actions in com_templates lack the required ACL checks, leading to various potential attack vectors.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceMissing ACL (Access Control List) checks in Joomla's com_templates component allow unauthorized users to perform template management actions (such as viewing, editing, deleting, or creating templates and template files) without proper authorization. An attacker could potentially modify template files to achieve code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Joomla\!Application
>= 2.5.0, < 3.9.16CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your Joomla installation versionLog into the Joomla Administrator backend and navigate to Help > System Information, or check the libraries/cms.php file for the VERSION constant. Alternatively, check the administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml file.Affected if The installed version is between 2.5.0 and 3.9.15 inclusive (versions < 3.9.16)
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Review user groups with template component accessIn the Joomla Administrator panel, go to Users > Groups and examine each group. Then navigate to Users > Access Levels to see which groups have access to the Template Manager (com_templates).Affected if Any group below Administrator (such as Registered, Editor, or custom low-privilege groups) is assigned access to com_templates
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Check ACL permissions for com_templates actionsNavigate to System > Global Configuration > Permissions tab. Locate the com_templates component and inspect the permission settings for each user group, particularly for the actions: Configure, Create, Delete, and Edit State.Affected if Non-admin groups (other than Super Users) are granted Create, Delete, or Edit State permissions on templates
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Verify template file modification permissionsGo to Extensions > Templates > Templates. Check if users with low privilege levels (below Administrator) can access and edit template files (such as index.php or css files) without receiving access denied errors.Affected if Users in non-privileged groups can successfully view, modify, or create template files
Your environment is affected if the Joomla version is 3.9.15 or earlier AND any low-privileged user group has been granted template management permissions through the com_templates component ACL settings.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor data3.9.16
Upgrade Joomla to version 3.9.16 or later which contains proper ACL enforcement for com_templates actions. If immediate patching is not possible, review and restrict template management permissions for lower-privileged user groups.
Fix this in Joomla\!
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10238 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-10238 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data