Nginx ControllerWeb server / proxy · F5
CVE-2020-5899
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 · uneditedIn NGINX Controller 3.0.0-3.4.0, recovery code required to change a user's password is transmitted and stored in the database in plain text, which allows an attacker who can intercept the database connection or have read access to the database, to request a password reset using the email address of another registered user then retrieve the recovery code.
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 confidenceIn NGINX Controller 3.0.0-3.4.0, password recovery codes are transmitted and stored in the database in plaintext. An attacker with database read access can request a password reset for any user's email address, then retrieve the plaintext recovery code from the database to complete an unauthorized password change.
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
Nginx ControllerWeb server / proxy
>= 3.0.0, <= 3.4.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check NGINX Controller installed versionAccess the NGINX Controller management interface or run the command 'nginx-controller-manage version' or check /etc/nginx-controller/version file if availableAffected if Version is 3.0.0, 3.1.x, 3.2.x, 3.3.x, or 3.4.0 (any version from 3.0.0 through 3.4.0 inclusive)
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Verify password recovery feature is enabledCheck the NGINX Controller user management settings to confirm self-service password reset or account recovery functionality is accessible to usersAffected if Password recovery or reset functionality is enabled and users can request password resets
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Review database access controlsExamine database server access policies and audit logs to determine if unauthorized database read access is possibleAffected if Database is accessible to users or processes without proper encryption or access restrictions
If NGINX Controller version is between 3.0.0 and 3.4.0 and password recovery is available, the plaintext recovery code vulnerability is present.
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 to NGINX Controller 3.4.1 or later which addresses the plaintext storage of recovery codes. Additionally, ensure database connections use TLS encryption to protect recovery codes in transit.
Fix this in Nginx Controller
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $7,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5899 — 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-2020-5899 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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- 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