Joomla\!Application · Joomla
CVE-2020-35614
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 Joomla! 3.9.0 through 3.9.22. Improper handling of the username leads to a user enumeration attack vector in the backend login page.
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 confidenceJoomla 3.9.0 through 3.9.22 contains a user enumeration vulnerability in the backend login page where improper handling of the username parameter causes different responses for valid vs. invalid usernames, allowing attackers to discover valid user accounts.
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
Joomla\!Application
>= 3.9.0, <= 3.9.22CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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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Check Joomla version in administrator panelLog into the Joomla administrator backend and navigate to System > System Information > Joomla! Version. Alternatively, check the libraries/cms.php file for the VERSION constant.Affected if The installed version is 3.9.0, 3.9.1, 3.9.2, 3.9.3, 3.9.4, 3.9.5, 3.9.6, 3.9.7, 3.9.8, 3.9.9, 3.9.10, 3.9.11, 3.9.12, 3.9.13, 3.9.14, 3.9.15, 3.9.16, 3.9.17, 3.9.18, 3.9.19, 3.9.20, 3.9.21, or 3.9.22.
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Test backend login page response for user enumerationOn the Joomla backend login page, attempt a login with a known-valid username and an invalid username, using any password. Compare the error messages or response timing between the two attempts.Affected if The login page returns noticeably different error messages or response behaviors for valid usernames versus invalid usernames, revealing which accounts exist on the system.
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Verify if default user enumeration protections are in placeCheck the Joomla configuration.php file for the $secret parameter and ensure it is set to a strong, unique value. Also verify that any web application firewall or rate limiting is configured for the /administrator/ login endpoint.Affected if The $secret configuration value is missing, weak, or not set, and no additional protections exist to mask login behavior differences between valid and invalid usernames.
You are affected if your Joomla installation version is 3.9.0 through 3.9.22 and the backend login page reveals different responses for valid versus invalid usernames.
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 dataUpgrade Joomla to version 3.9.23 or later which contains the fix for this user enumeration vulnerability.
Fix this in Joomla\!
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-35614 — 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-2020-35614 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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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