KeycloakApplication · Redhat
CVE-2020-1698
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 · uneditedA flaw was found in keycloak in versions before 9.0.0. A logged exception in the HttpMethod class may leak the password given as parameter. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.
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 confidenceIn Keycloak versions before 9.0.0, the HttpMethod class logs exception details that include password parameters passed as method arguments. This causes sensitive credentials to be written to application logs, exposing them to anyone with log access.
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
KeycloakApplication
< 9.0.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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.
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Identify installed Keycloak versionLocate the Keycloak installation directory and check the version file or startup logs. Common locations include the 'README' file, 'version' file in the root directory, or the server startup banner which displays the version number on startup.Affected if The installed version is any release before 9.0.0 (e.g., 8.x, 7.x, 6.x series).
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Examine application log files for password parametersSearch Keycloak log files (typically found in $KEYCLOAK_HOME/standalone/log/ or similar log directories) for strings matching password-related parameter names such as 'password', 'passwd', 'credential', or similar terms that may have been logged during HTTP requests or exception handling.Affected if Log files contain any plaintext or partially masked password values that were passed as method arguments when exceptions occurred.
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Review HttpMethod class behaviorInspect the Keycloak source code or decompiled classes for the HttpMethod implementation. Look for logging statements that output method arguments without filtering out sensitive parameters, particularly in exception handling code paths.Affected if The HttpMethod class contains logging logic that outputs method arguments including password parameters to the application logs.
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Verify log configuration for sensitive data maskingCheck the logging configuration file (typically logback.xml or log4j configuration) to determine whether there are filters or custom layouts configured to mask or exclude sensitive parameters like passwords from log output.Affected if No sensitive data filters are configured, or the existing filters do not cover password-type parameters in exception logging.
You are affected if your Keycloak installation is version 8.x or earlier and your application logs contain any exposed password or credential values from HTTP method arguments.
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 data9.0.0
Upgrade Keycloak to version 9.0.0 or later, which contains the fix that prevents password parameters from being included in logged exceptions.
Fix this in Keycloak
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1698 — 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-2020-1698 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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- 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
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