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DrupalCMS

CVE-2020-13665

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.8.8 / 8.9.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Access bypass vulnerability in Drupal Core allows JSON:API when JSON:API is in read/write mode. Only sites that have the read_only set to FALSE under jsonapi.settings config are vulnerable. This issue affects: Drupal Drupal Core 8.8.x versions prior to 8.8.8; 8.9.x versions prior to 8.9.1; 9.0.x versions prior to 9.0.1.

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 confidence

Access bypass vulnerability in Drupal Core's JSON:API module that allows unauthorized access when JSON:API is configured in read/write mode (read_only=FALSE in jsonapi.settings). The vulnerability enables attackers to bypass intended access controls and potentially read or modify data they should not have access to.

MitigationUpdate Drupal Core to version 8.8.8, 8.9.1, or 9.0.1 or later; alternatively, set jsonapi.settings read_only to TRUE if immediate updates are not feasible.

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
DrupalCMS
Affected:>= 8.8.0, < 8.8.8>= 8.9.0, < 8.9.1>= 9.0.0, < 9.0.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm JSON:API module is enabled
    Check if the JSON:API module is installed and enabled in your Drupal site. This can be done via Drupal admin UI at /admin/modules, or by checking the 'key_value' table for the module's status, or running: drush pm-list --type=module --status=enabled | grep jsonapi
    Affected if JSON:API module is enabled and installed
  2. Check Drupal Core version
    Run 'drush status' or check the VERSION constant in Drupal's autoload.php, or look at the 'system' table for the Drupal core version, or check the composer.json file
    Affected if Drupal Core version is 8.8.0-8.8.7, 8.9.0, or 9.0.0
  3. Check JSON:API read_only setting
    Query the Drupal configuration. Run: drush config-get jsonapi.settings read_only - OR check the config file 'jsonapi.settings.yml' in the config directory, OR query the 'config' table where name='jsonapi.settings'
    Affected if The read_only setting is set to FALSE (or not explicitly set to TRUE)

A user is affected if they have Drupal Core versions 8.8.0-8.8.7, 8.9.0, or 9.0.0 with the JSON:API module enabled AND the jsonapi.settings read_only configuration is not set to TRUE.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 8.8.8 / 8.9.1 / 9.0.1 or later
Fixed in 8.8.88.9.19.0.1
Interim mitigation

Update Drupal Core to version 8.8.8, 8.9.1, or 9.0.1 or later; alternatively, set jsonapi.settings read_only to TRUE if immediate updates are not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Drupal 8.8.8 (if on 8.8.x), 8.9.1 (if on 8.9.x), or 9.0.1 (if on 9.0.x)

  1. 1. Identify your current Drupal version by running `drush status` or checking the CHANGELOG.md file in your Drupal root directory
  2. 2. Determine if your JSON:API module is in read/write mode by checking the configuration: run `drush config-get jsonapi.settings` and verify if `read_only` is set to FALSE
  3. 3. If vulnerable (read_only is FALSE), backup your database and codebase before proceeding
  4. 4. If running Drupal 8.8.x: Upgrade to 8.8.8 or later using Composer: `composer require drupal/core:^8.8.8 --no-interaction --update-with-dependencies`
  5. 5. If running Drupal 8.9.x: Upgrade to 8.9.1 or later using Composer: `composer require drupal/core:^8.9.1 --no-interaction --update-with-dependencies`
  6. 6. If running Drupal 9.0.x: Upgrade to 9.0.1 or later using Composer: `composer require drupal/core:^9.0.1 --no-interaction --update-with-dependencies`
  7. 7. Run database updates: `drush updb`
  8. 8. Clear the cache: `drush cr`
Caveat Upgrading Drupal core may require PHP version compatibility checks and module compatibility verification; test in staging environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Drupal Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-13665 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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