SolrApplication · Apache
CVE-2020-13941
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 · uneditedReported in SOLR-14515 (private) and fixed in SOLR-14561 (public), released in Solr version 8.6.0. The Replication handler (https://lucene.apache.org/solr/guide/8_6/index-replication.html#http-api-commands-for-the-replicationhandler) allows commands backup, restore and deleteBackup. Each of these take a location parameter, which was not validated, i.e you could read/write to any location the solr user can access.
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 confidenceThe Apache Solr Replication handler fails to validate the 'location' parameter in backup, restore, and deleteBackup commands, allowing unauthenticated or authenticated attackers to read/write files to arbitrary locations accessible by the Solr process user. This path traversal vulnerability essentially grants the attacker filesystem access equivalent to the Solr service account.
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
SolrApplication
< 8.6.0CVSS 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
- 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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Check Apache Solr versionRun 'bin/solr version' or inspect the solr-core jar manifest, or query the Solr admin API at /solr/admin/info/systemAffected if The installed version is earlier than 8.6.0 (for example, 8.5.x, 8.4.x, 7.x, 6.x, etc.)
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Verify Replication handler is accessibleQuery the Solr API at /solr/replication to confirm the Replication handler respondsAffected if The handler returns a valid response indicating it is enabled and reachable
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Confirm backup API endpoints are exposedAttempt a GET request to /solr/{core}/replication/backup or check Solr configuration files (solr.xml) for handler definitionsAffected if The backup, restore, or deleteBackup endpoints are registered and accessible without additional restrictions
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Check if unauthenticated access is permittedAttempt the backup API call without providing credentials, or review Solr's security configuration (security.json) and authentication settingsAffected if The backup, restore, or deleteBackup commands can be invoked without authentication
A user is affected if their Solr installation is version 8.5.x or earlier, the Replication handler is exposed, and unauthenticated or unauthorized users can invoke backup, restore, or deleteBackup commands.
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 data8.6.0
Upgrade to Solr 8.6.0 or later where the location parameter is properly validated. If upgrading is not immediately possible, disable or restrict access to the Replication handler via Solr authentication/authorization or network-level filtering.
Fix this in Solr
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-2020-13941 — 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-2020-13941 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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