Alfresco Enterprise Content ManagementApplication · Atlassian
CVE-2020-12873
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 Alfresco Enterprise Content Management (ECM) before 6.2.1. A user with privileges to edit a FreeMarker template (e.g., a webscript) may execute arbitrary Java code or run arbitrary system commands with the same privileges as the account running Alfresco.
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 confidenceThis is a Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability in Alfresco Enterprise Content Management's FreeMarker templating engine. Users with privileges to edit FreeMarker templates (such as webscripts) can inject malicious template syntax to achieve arbitrary Java code execution or OS command execution with the privileges of the account running Alfresco.
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
Alfresco Enterprise Content ManagementApplication
< 6.2.1CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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.
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Identify installed Alfresco ECM versionLocate the Alfresco installation and check the version number (typically found in the product info page, WAR file properties, or installation directory metadata). Compare this version against the affected range: versions prior to 6.2.1.Affected if The installed version is any release before 6.2.1 (e.g., 6.2.0, 6.1.x, 6.0.x, 5.x).
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Determine if FreeMarker template editing is accessibleCheck whether the Alfresco repository has webscripts or FreeMarker templates that are editable by non-administrator users. Review the user roles and permissions assigned to account types in the system.Affected if Users other than highly trusted administrators have the ability to create or modify FreeMarker-based webscripts or templates.
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Audit existing FreeMarker templates for suspicious contentLocate all deployed FreeMarker templates and webscripts in the Alfresco data directory (typically under the webscripts folder in the repository). Inspect the template code for unexpected Java calls, process execution methods, or shell command invocations.Affected if Any FreeMarker template contains code that executes system commands, invokes Java runtime methods, or accesses filesystem/network resources beyond simple rendering logic.
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Review permission configuration for template managementExamine the Alfresco permission configuration to identify which roles or groups are granted create/edit permissions on webscripts and template resources.Affected if Permission settings allow standard users or groups beyond a small set of highly privileged administrators to modify FreeMarker templates.
You are affected if your Alfresco ECM version is earlier than 6.2.1 AND non-administrator users have the ability to edit FreeMarker templates or webscripts in your environment.
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 data6.2.1
Upgrade to Alfresco ECM version 6.2.1 or later. Immediately review and restrict permissions on FreeMarker template editing to only highly trusted administrators, and audit existing templates for malicious code.
Fix this in Alfresco Enterprise Content Management
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12873 — 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-2020-12873 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
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