CVE-2020-12757
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 · uneditedHashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise 1.4.0 and 1.4.1, when configured with the GCP Secrets Engine, may incorrectly generate GCP Credentials with the default time-to-live lease duration instead of the engine-configured setting. This may lead to generated GCP credentials being valid for longer than intended. Fixed in 1.4.2.
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 · high confidenceIn Vault 1.4.0 and 1.4.1, the GCP Secrets Engine ignores the user-configured TTL setting and instead uses the system default lease duration when generating GCP service account credentials. This causes credentials to remain valid longer than the administrator intended, potentially extending access beyond the planned expiration.
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>= 1.4.0, < 1.4.2CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
-
Check Vault versionRun `vault version` command or inspect Vault startup logs to determine the installed version numberAffected if Version is >= 1.4.0 and < 1.4.2
-
Verify GCP Secrets Engine is enabledRun `vault secrets list` to enumerate all enabled secret engines and identify if GCP is presentAffected if GCP Secrets Engine is listed as enabled at any mount path
-
Inspect GCP secret engine configuration for TTLRun `vault read` on the GCP secret engine config path (typically `sys/mounts/<gcp-mount-point>/config`) or review the configuration file to check for ttl or max_ttl settingsAffected if Custom TTL values are configured in the GCP secret engine settings
-
Audit issued GCP credentials for lease durationReview active lease durations using `vault list sys/leases/lookup/<gcp-mount-point>/` or examine recently issued credentials to see if they use the system default lease instead of the configured custom TTLAffected if Issued GCP service account credentials expire at the system default duration rather than the user-configured TTL
Environment is affected if Vault version is between 1.4.0 and 1.4.1 inclusive and the GCP Secrets Engine is enabled with a user-configured TTL that is being ignored in favor of the system default lease duration.
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.
dbcve · scoped1.4.2
Upgrade to Vault 1.4.2 or later to fix the TTL handling. Review previously issued GCP credentials and revoke any that remain active beyond the intended duration.
Vault 1.4.2
- Upgrade HashiCorp Vault from version 1.4.0 or 1.4.1 to version 1.4.2 or later
- After upgrading, verify the GCP Secrets Engine is functioning correctly by generating test credentials
- Confirm that the lease duration now respects the GCP Secrets Engine configuration rather than using the default TTL
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12757 — 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-2020-12757 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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