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Ubuntu LinuxOperating system · Canonical

CVE-2020-14678

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.0.20 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Security: Privileges). Supported versions that are affected are 8.0.20 and prior. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise MySQL Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in takeover of MySQL Server. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 7.2 (Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

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

Vulnerability in MySQL Server's Security: Privileges component. A high-privileged attacker with network access can exploit this flaw to achieve complete takeover of the MySQL Server, gaining full control over the database and potentially the underlying system.

MitigationApply Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2020 or later (MySQL Server 8.0.21+). Prior to patching, restrict network access to trusted administrative users only and audit all high-privilege accounts for signs of compromise.

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
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 16.04= 18.04= 20.04
MySQLDatabase / datastore
Affected:>= 8.0.0, <= 8.0.20
Active Iq Unified ManagerApplication
Affected:all versions
Oncommand InsightApplication
Affected:all versions
Oncommand Workflow AutomationApplication
Affected:all versions
SnapcenterApplication
Affected:all versions

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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. Identify installed MySQL server version
    Run `mysqld --version` or `mysql --version` on the server, or query `SELECT VERSION();` from a MySQL client while connected to the database
    Affected if The version number is 8.0.20 or lower, or falls within the range 8.0.0 to 8.0.20 inclusive
  2. Check Ubuntu MySQL package version
    On Ubuntu systems, run `dpkg -l | grep mysql-server` or `apt list --installed | grep mysql` to see the installed MySQL package version
    Affected if The installed package version corresponds to MySQL 8.0.20 or earlier
  3. Verify MySQL network listening status
    Check if MySQL is bound to a network interface by reviewing the `bind-address` setting in `/etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf` or `/etc/my.cnf`, and verify listening ports with `netstat -tlnp | grep 3306` or `ss -tlnp | grep 3306`
    Affected if MySQL is listening on a network interface (0.0.0.0 or specific IP) rather than only on localhost (127.0.0.1)
  4. Review high-privilege account exposure
    Query MySQL for accounts with high privileges using `SELECT user, host FROM mysql.user WHERE user='root' OR Super_Priv='Y';` and verify which of these accounts are accessible over the network
    Affected if There are high-privilege MySQL accounts (such as root) accessible from network hosts rather than localhost only

You are affected if your MySQL Server version is 8.0.20 or earlier (including 8.0.0 through 8.0.20) and the database is accessible over the network to untrusted users.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.0.20
Interim mitigation

Apply Oracle Critical Patch Update October 2020 or later (MySQL Server 8.0.21+). Prior to patching, restrict network access to trusted administrative users only and audit all high-privilege accounts for signs of compromise.

Fix this in Ubuntu Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2020-14678 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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