CVE-2020-16162
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in RIPE NCC RPKI Validator 3.x through 3.1-2020.07.06.14.28. Missing validation checks on CRL presence or CRL staleness in the X509-based RPKI certificate-tree validation procedure allow remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by using revoked certificates. NOTE: there may be counterarguments related to backwards compatibility
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 RIPE NCC RPKI Validator fails to verify CRL (Certificate Revocation List) presence and staleness during X.509 certificate validation in its RPKI certificate-tree validation procedure. This allows revoked certificates to be treated as valid, enabling attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by presenting certificates that should have been rejected.
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>= 3.0, <= 3.1-2020.07.06.14.28CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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.
-
Identify installed RPKI Validator versionRun 'java -jar ripe-rpki-validator.jar --version' or check the application startup logs for the version string. On Linux, the JAR file is typically located in /opt/ripe-rpki-validator/ or the installation directory.Affected if The reported version is >= 3.0 and <= 3.1-2020.07.06.14.28
-
Confirm RPKI certificate validation is actively usedCheck the validator's web UI (typically at http://localhost:8080) or review logs for recent validation activity. Look for entries showing trust anchor fetching and certificate tree validation.Affected if The validator is processing RPKI certificates and performing validation runs
-
Inspect CRL validation configurationExamine the validator's configuration file (typically 'validatoryaml' or settings in the web UI under Validation Settings). Look for settings related to CRL checking, revocation status validation, or certificate path validation.Affected if CRL checking is disabled, not explicitly configured, or set to permissive mode
-
Review validation output for revoked certificatesExport validation results via the API (GET /api/v1/validity) or web UI. Check if certificates that should appear in CRLs are being reported as VALID rather than REVOKED or INVALID.Affected if Known-revoked certificates are reported as valid in the validation output
A system is affected if it runs RIPE RPKI Validator version 3.0 through 3.1-2020.07.06.14.28 and performs RPKI certificate validation without proper CRL checks enabled.
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 dataUpdate to a patched version of RPKI Validator that implements proper CRL validation checks. Until then, consider implementing additional manual verification or compensating controls for critical RPKI validation workflows.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-16162 — 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-2020-16162 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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