ShiroApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-13933
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 · uneditedApache Shiro before 1.6.0, when using Apache Shiro, a specially crafted HTTP request may cause an authentication bypass.
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 confidenceApache Shiro before version 1.6.0 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability where specially crafted HTTP requests can circumvent authentication controls. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of certain HTTP request patterns in the framework's security filter chain.
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
ShiroApplication
< 1.6.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 9.0CVSS 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 Apache Shiro versionCheck your project's dependency management file (pom.xml, build.gradle, or similar) for the shiro-core or shiro-web artifact version, or inspect the Shiro JAR file's META-INF/MANIFEST.MFAffected if The displayed version is below 1.6.0 (for example, 1.5.3, 1.5.0, 1.4.2, etc.)
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Locate Shiro configurationSearch for shiro.ini files, ShiroFilterFactoryBean definitions in Spring contexts, or programmatic Shiro configuration in your codebaseAffected if Shiro security filters are explicitly configured and enabled in your application
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Identify authentication filter usageReview the Shiro filter chain configuration and identify which authentication filters are mapped (such as authc, authcBasic, or form auth filters)Affected if Any authentication filters (authc, authcBasic) are mapped to URL patterns in the filter chain
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Review filter chain URL patternsExamine the URL-to-filter mappings in your Shiro configuration, particularly looking at which paths require authentication and which are defined as anon or perms/rolesAffected if URL patterns exist that rely solely on Shiro authentication filters without additional custom validation
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Verify application exposes authentication-protected endpointsIdentify endpoints in your application that rely on Shiro's authentication filters (authc) for access controlAffected if Your application has endpoints protected by Shiro authentication filters that could accept crafted HTTP requests
Your environment is affected if Apache Shiro version is below 1.6.0 AND your application uses Shiro's authentication filters on any URL patterns, as the vulnerability allows specially crafted HTTP requests to bypass these controls.
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 data1.6.0
Upgrade Apache Shiro to version 1.6.0 or later. If immediate upgrade is not possible, implement additional authentication layer controls (such as API gateways or web application firewalls) as a compensating control.
Fix this in Shiro
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13933 — 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-2020-13933 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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