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PancakeApplication · Pancakeapp

CVE-2020-24876

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-09-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.13.29 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
Use of a hard-coded cryptographic key in Pancake versions < 4.13.29 allows an attacker to forge session cookies, which may lead to remote privilege escalation.

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 confidence

Pancake CMS versions before 4.13.29 use a hard-coded cryptographic key in the application's codebase. An attacker who discovers this key (which may be present in source code leaks, backups, or through other disclosure) can forge session cookies, effectively impersonating any user and achieving remote privilege escalation to administrative levels.

MitigationUpgrade to Pancake 4.13.29 or later which replaces the hardcoded key with proper key management. Additionally, audit for key exposure, rotate all session secrets, and invalidate existing sessions to prevent continued exploitation of any compromised credentials.

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
PancakeApplication
Affected:< 4.13.29

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. Locate Pancake CMS installation
    Search for Pancake CMS directories on the web server, typically under web root paths like /pancake, /cms, or check known backup directories (.bak, old, backup folders)
    Affected if Pancake CMS is present on the server
  2. Identify installed version
    Locate the version file or check the admin dashboard footer for the version number; common paths include /pancake/version.php or within the /core/ directory
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 4.13.29
  3. Search for hardcoded cryptographic key
    Inspect source code files for hardcoded secret keys, particularly in configuration or core application files; search for patterns like 'secret_key', 'encryption_key', 'key', or specific key strings in PHP files within the application root and /core/ directories
    Affected if A hardcoded cryptographic key is found in the source code
  4. Check for key exposure in backups or leaks
    Review web-accessible directories, backup files (.zip, .tar, .bak), and version control files (.git, .svn) for exposed source code containing the hardcoded key
    Affected if Backup files or leaked source code containing the key are accessible

A user is affected if Pancake CMS version is below 4.13.29 and a hardcoded cryptographic key exists in the source code or is exposed through backups or file leaks.

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 4.13.29 or later
Fixed in 4.13.29
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Pancake 4.13.29 or later which replaces the hardcoded key with proper key management. Additionally, audit for key exposure, rotate all session secrets, and invalidate existing sessions to prevent continued exploitation of any compromised credentials.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

4.13.29

  1. 1. Backup your current Pancake installation and database before proceeding with any upgrade.
  2. 2. Download Pancake version 4.13.29 or later from the official source (www.pancakeapp.com).
  3. 3. Review the upgrade instructions provided in the Pancake release notes for version 4.13.29.
  4. 4. Replace the existing Pancake files with the new version files, preserving your configuration and data.
  5. 5. Run any database migration scripts included in the 4.13.29 release if applicable.
  6. 6. Clear any cached session data to ensure the new cryptographic key is used.
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade by logging in and confirming normal functionality.
  8. 8. As a security best practice after upgrading, consider rotating the cryptographic keys and reviewing user sessions.

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

Fix this in Pancake Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.

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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-2020-24876 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