CVE-2020-36911
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 · uneditedCovenant 0.1.3 - 0.5 contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows attackers to craft malicious JWT tokens with administrative privileges. Attackers can generate forged tokens with admin roles and upload custom DLL payloads to execute arbitrary commands on the target system.
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 confidenceCovenant C2 framework versions 0.1.3-0.5 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability allowing attackers to forge JWT tokens with administrative privileges. This enables unauthorized file upload of malicious DLL payloads, leading to arbitrary command execution on the target system.
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>= 0.1.3, <= 0.5CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Covenant C2 installation and versionLocate the Covenant binary or Docker container and run 'dotnet Covenant.dll --version' or check the Docker image tag. If running as a service, check the installed package version.Affected if The installed version is >= 0.1.3 and <= 0.5
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Confirm web interface accessibilityCheck if the Covenant web interface port (default 7443) is listening on external interfaces. Review firewall rules and network ACLs for the management endpoint.Affected if The management interface is accessible from untrusted networks
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Review JWT token validation settingsInspect the Covenant configuration files (appsettings.json or environment variables) for JWT signing key configuration and validate that strong, unique keys are in use.Affected if Default or weak JWT signing keys are configured, or signature validation is disabled
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Audit file upload endpoints and uploaded filesExamine the uploads directory (typically under wwwroot/uploads or the data directory) for unexpected DLL files. Review server logs for file upload API calls.Affected if Unauthorized DLL files exist in upload directories or anomalous upload activity is logged
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Check for unauthorized administrative accountsReview Covenant user database or configuration for unexpected admin accounts. Compare against known legitimate administrators.Affected if Unexpected admin accounts exist or privilege escalation has occurred
You are affected if Covenant C2 version 0.1.3 through 0.5 is installed and its web management interface is accessible, particularly with default or weak JWT configuration.
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 Covenant to a patched version. Until then, restrict network access to the management interface and implement additional validation on JWT token signatures and file upload endpoints.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36911 — 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-2020-36911 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