CVE-2020-14488
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 · uneditedOpenClinic GA 5.09.02 and 5.89.05b does not properly verify uploaded files, which may allow a low-privilege user to upload and execute arbitrary files on the system.
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 confidenceOpenClinic GA versions 5.09.02 and 5.89.05b contain an insecure file upload vulnerability in the file upload functionality. The application fails to properly validate uploaded files (missing file type, extension, and content validation), allowing authenticated low-privilege users to upload arbitrary file types including executable scripts (e.g., PHP files) that can be accessed and executed via the web server, leading to remote code execution.
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= 5.09.02= 5.89.05bCVSS 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 OpenClinic GA installation and versionLocate the OpenClinic GA application and determine its installed version by checking the application's version display in the admin or login page, or by locating version files within the installation directory. Compare your installed version to the affected versions 5.09.02 and 5.89.05b.Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.09.02 or 5.89.05b
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Verify if file upload feature exists and is accessibleLog into OpenClinic GA with a low-privilege user account and navigate to any file upload functionality (commonly found in document management, patient record attachments, or admin sections). Determine if the upload form accepts files without requiring privileged access.Affected if A low-privilege authenticated user can access and use the file upload functionality
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Test if uploaded files are stored in web-accessible locationUpload a harmless test file (such as a text file) via the upload feature and note the returned URL or path. Then attempt to access that file via a web browser to determine if it is served from within the web root.Affected if Uploaded files are accessible via direct URL within the web server's document root
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Check if upload permits executable extensionsAttempt to upload a file with a server-side executable extension such as .php, .asp, or .jsp. Observe whether the application accepts the file without blocking or rewriting the extension.Affected if The application accepts and retains executable file extensions like .php in uploaded files
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Verify uploaded files can be executedAfter successfully uploading a test executable script, navigate to its URL via the web browser to determine if the server parses and executes the script rather than serving it as plain text.Affected if Uploaded files with executable extensions are served and interpreted by the web server rather than being downloaded or blocked
A user is affected if they are running OpenClinic GA version 5.09.02 or 5.89.05b, low-privilege users can access the upload functionality, and uploaded files are stored in a web-accessible location with their original extensions intact, allowing direct execution.
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 dataImplement strict server-side file validation including allowlist of permitted file types/extensions, content-type verification, magic byte checking, and store uploaded files outside the webroot or with non-executable permissions to prevent direct script execution.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14488 — 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-2020-14488 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data