AutomateApplication · Connectwise

CVE-2020-15027

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2019.12 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
ConnectWise Automate through 2020.x has insufficient validation on certain authentication paths, allowing authentication bypass via a series of attempts. This was patched in 2020.7 and in a hotfix for 2019.12.

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 confidence

ConnectWise Automate through 2020.x contains an authentication bypass vulnerability due to insufficient validation on certain authentication paths, allowing attackers to bypass authentication through a series of crafted attempts. This critical flaw enables unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to the system.

MitigationApply the patched version 2020.7 or later, or install the hotfix for version 2019.12, to remediate the insufficient authentication validation in ConnectWise Automate.

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
AutomateApplication
Affected:< 2019.12>= 2020.0, <= 2020.7

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. Identify ConnectWise Automate version
    Locate the Automate installation directory and check the version file or registry entry for the build number. This is typically found in the installation path or can be retrieved via the Automate control panel.
    Affected if The version is less than 2019.12, or falls between 2020.0 and 2020.7 inclusive.
  2. Confirm network exposure of the Automate web interface
    Determine if the Automate web portal (typically ports 80/443 or custom configured ports) is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet. Review firewall rules and web server bindings.
    Affected if The web interface is exposed to unauthenticated network access without proper segmentation or VPN requirements.
  3. Review authentication module configuration
    Examine the web.config or associated authentication configuration files within the Automate web directory for custom authentication paths or overrides that may bypass standard validation.
    Affected if Custom authentication handlers or paths exist that circumvent the standard login validation routines.
  4. Check for presence of security hotfix
    Review installed updates or hotfixes within the Automate system. This may be visible in the control panel, update history, or patch management logs.
    Affected if The hotfix addressing CVE-2020-15027 is not installed on the system.

A system is affected if it runs ConnectWise Automate version 2019.12 or earlier, or version 2020.0 through 2020.7, and has its web interface accessible to unauthenticated 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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2019.12 or later
Fixed in 2019.12
Interim mitigation

Apply the patched version 2020.7 or later, or install the hotfix for version 2019.12, to remediate the insufficient authentication validation in ConnectWise Automate.

Recommended fix High confidence

2020.7

  1. Upgrade ConnectWise Automate to version 2020.7 or later, which includes the patch for the authentication bypass vulnerability
Caveat Review release notes for 2020.7 to check for any configuration or functionality changes that may affect your deployment

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

Fix this in Automate Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2020-15027 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