CVE-2020-1768
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 · uneditedThe external frontend system uses numerous background calls to the backend. Each background request is treated as user activity so the SessionMaxIdleTime will not be reached. This issue affects: OTRS 7.0.x version 7.0.14 and prior versions.
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 confidenceThe external frontend system makes numerous background API calls to the backend that incorrectly reset the session idle timer. Each automated background request is treated as user activity, preventing the SessionMaxIdleTime setting from being triggered and allowing sessions to remain active indefinitely even when users are inactive.
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>= 7.0.0, <= 7.0.14CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
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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Check OTRS installed versionRun command: bin/otrs.Console.pl Admin::Package::List or check SysConfig > Framework > Core to find the OTRS version numberAffected if Version is >= 7.0.0 and <= 7.0.14
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Verify SessionMaxIdleTime is configuredNavigate to SysConfig > Framework > Core > SessionMaxIdleTime or grep for SessionMaxIdleTime in Kernel/Config.pmAffected if SessionMaxIdleTime is set to a value greater than 0 (session should expire after inactivity)
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Identify background API endpoints in useReview browser developer console Network tab or web server access logs for recurring POST/PGET requests to /otrs/npc.pl or /otrs/index.pl with no user interactionAffected if Background API calls are being made repeatedly while user is idle
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Test session persistence beyond idle thresholdOpen OTRS web interface, start a session, then leave browser idle without interaction while monitoring network requests; verify session remains valid after SessionMaxIdleTime has passedAffected if Session remains active despite exceeding configured SessionMaxIdleTime due to background API calls resetting the timer
You are affected if running OTRS version 7.0.0-7.0.14 with SessionMaxIdleTime configured and background API activity is keeping sessions alive beyond the intended idle timeout.
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 dataBackground/API requests should not reset the session idle timer; only explicit user-initiated actions should count toward session activity. Consider implementing separate session handling or flags to distinguish user requests from automated background calls.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-1768 — 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-2020-1768 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
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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