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MariaDBDatabase / datastore

CVE-2020-15180

CRITICAL · 9.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.6.49 / 5.6.49-28.42.2 or later.
See remediation →
99/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
A flaw was found in the mysql-wsrep component of mariadb. Lack of input sanitization in `wsrep_sst_method` allows for command injection that can be exploited by a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on galera cluster nodes. This threatens the system's confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This flaw affects mariadb versions before 10.1.47, before 10.2.34, before 10.3.25, before 10.4.15 and before 10.5.6.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-20

The application accepts input without confirming it is well-formed or within expected bounds, so malformed data can push the program into states its author never anticipated. Attackers probe these gaps to trigger crashes, bypass logic, or feed tainted values into more dangerous operations downstream. Remediating it well means validating and normalising every input at the boundary against a strict allow-list — not merely filtering known-bad values.

General guidance for the improper input validation class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
MariaDBDatabase / datastore
Affected:>= 10.1.0, < 10.1.47>= 10.2.0, < 10.2.34>= 10.3.0, < 10.3.25>= 10.4.0, < 10.4.15>= 10.5.0, < 10.5.6
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 9.0= 10.0
Xtradb ClusterApplication
Affected:< 5.6.49-28.42.2>= 5.7, < 5.7.31-31.45.2>= 8.0, < 8.0.20-11.2
Galera Cluster For MysqlDatabase / datastore
Affected:>= 5.6, < 5.6.49>= 5.7, < 5.7.31>= 8.0, < 8.0.21

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 5.6.49 / 5.6.49-28.42.2 / 5.7.31 or later
Fixed in 5.6.495.6.49-28.42.25.7.31
Vendor patch www.percona.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

MariaDB 10.4.15 (or 10.5.6+) / Percona Xtradb Cluster 8.0.20-11.2+ / Galera Cluster 8.0.21+

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed MariaDB/Galera/Xtradb version using: `mysql --version` or `rpm -qa | grep mariadb`
  2. 2. For MariaDB: Upgrade to one of the following fixed versions: 10.1.47+, 10.2.34+, 10.3.25+, 10.4.15+, or 10.5.6+
  3. 3. For Debian systems: Update package lists with `apt-get update` then upgrade with `apt-get install mariadb-server` or `apt-get upgrade`
  4. 4. For Percona Xtradb Cluster: Upgrade to 5.6.49-28.42.2+, 5.7.31-31.45.2+, or 8.0.20-11.2+
  5. 5. For Galera Cluster for MySQL: Upgrade to 5.6.49+, 5.7.31+, or 8.0.21+
  6. 6. After upgrade, restart the MariaDB/MySQL service: `systemctl restart mysql` or `systemctl restart mariadb`
  7. 7. Verify the new version is installed: `mysql --version`
  8. 8. Test that the wsrep_sst_method parameter is properly set and the service is operational
Caveat Review release notes before upgrading; ensure backup of databases exists; test upgrade in staging environment first

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

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,300. Get the upgrade done

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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-2020-15180 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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