MySQLDatabase / datastore · Oracle
CVE-2020-2790
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 · uneditedVulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Pluggable Auth). Supported versions that are affected are 5.7.28 and prior. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows low privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise MySQL Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of MySQL Server. CVSS 3.0 Base Score 6.5 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
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 confidenceVulnerability in MySQL Server's Pluggable Auth component (versions 5.7.28 and prior) allows low-privileged attackers with network access to cause a denial of service via crash or hang of the MySQL Server. The attack has low complexity and requires no user interaction.
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
MySQLDatabase / datastore
>= 5.7.0, <= 5.7.29>= 7.3>= 9.5all versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm MySQL Server is installedRun `mysql --version` or check for mysqld process with `ps aux | grep mysql`Affected if MySQL Server is present on the system
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Identify installed MySQL versionExecute `mysql -u user -p -e "SELECT VERSION();"` or run `mysql --version`Affected if Version returned is between 5.7.0 and 5.7.29 inclusive, or shows 5.7.28 or prior
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Verify Pluggable Auth component is activeQuery `SHOW PLUGINS;` and look for authentication plugins, or check `mysql.user` table for plugin column valuesAffected if Any authentication plugin (like mysql_native_password, caching_sha2_password) is in use, which is the default configuration
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Assess network exposure of MySQL portCheck if port 3306 (default) is listening on network interfaces with `netstat -tlnp | grep 3306` or `ss -tlnp | grep 3306`Affected if MySQL is bound to a non-localhost address (0.0.0.0 or specific IP) and is accessible from network
If MySQL version is 5.7.0 through 5.7.29 and the service is network-accessible, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataApply the appropriate MySQL patch/upgrade to a version beyond 5.7.28, or apply Oracle's Critical Patch Update. Restrict network access to MySQL ports and follow least-privilege principles for database user accounts as an interim measure.
Fix this in MySQL
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-2790 — 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-2020-2790 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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