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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2020-8865

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
69/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute local PHP files on affected installations of Horde Groupware Webmail Edition 5.2.22. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within edit.php. When parsing the params[template] parameter, the process does not properly validate a user-supplied path prior to using it in file operations. An attacker can leverage this in conjunction with other vulnerabilities to execute code in the context of the www-data user. Was ZDI-CAN-10469.

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

A local file inclusion vulnerability in Horde Groupware Webmail Edition 5.2.22's edit.php allows authenticated users to execute arbitrary local PHP files via the params[template] parameter due to insufficient path validation before file operations. The vulnerability requires authentication and is typically chained with other vulnerabilities to achieve remote code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patches for Horde Groupware. If no patch available, implement strict input validation on the params[template] parameter to ensure only allowed template paths are accepted, using allowlist validation and rejecting any path containing directory traversal sequences.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0
GroupwareApplication
Affected:= 5.2.22

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

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. Identify Horde Groupware installation and version
    Locate the Horde Groupware Webmail installation directory and check the version file or application metadata. Common locations include /usr/share/horde or the web root. Look for version information in configuration files, About pages within the application, or package manager records.
    Affected if The installed version matches 5.2.22 or the Debian package version is 5.2.22-1 or lower on Debian 8.0
  2. Verify edit.php exists in the application
    Locate the edit.php file within the Horde Groupware web directory. This file is typically found in the active theme or template component directory under the webmail application path.
    Affected if edit.php exists in the Horde Groupware installation, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  3. Confirm authentication mechanism is enabled
    Access the Horde Groupware login page and verify that user authentication is required to access the webmail interface. Check that the session management and login functionality are operational.
    Affected if The application requires authentication, which is a prerequisite for exploiting this vulnerability - an unauthenticated attacker cannot directly exploit this flaw
  4. Inspect the template parameter handling in edit.php
    If code review is possible, examine edit.php for the handling of the params[template] parameter. Look for file inclusion operations that use this parameter without proper path validation or allowlist checking.
    Affected if The code contains file operations using params[template] without validating that the path is within an allowed directory or without blocking directory traversal sequences

You are affected if Horde Groupware version 5.2.22 is installed, edit.php exists, and the application requires authentication - the LFI via params[template] can then be exploited by an authenticated user.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patches for Horde Groupware. If no patch available, implement strict input validation on the params[template] parameter to ensure only allowed template paths are accepted, using allowlist validation and rejecting any path containing directory traversal sequences.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2020-8865 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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