CVE-2020-7938: Plone REST API Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Summary
CVE-2020-7938: Plone Privilege Escallation. Affects plone-restapi versions < 6.2.1. Fixed in 6.2.1. How to fix ↓
Also tracked for
- plone · PyPI
The same CVE-2020-7938 is tracked separately for each ecosystem and vendor. Its fix information is the same; the package and affected versions differ.
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Background
Plone is an open-source content management system that allows users to create and manage websites easily. The plone.restapi package provides a RESTful API for Plone, enabling developers to interact with Plone content programmatically. This package is widely used for building applications that require integration with Plone's content management capabilities. However, versions 5.2.0 to 5.2.1 of plone.restapi are vulnerable to a privilege escalation issue that can be exploited by users with certain privileges.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in plone.restapi allows users with a specific privilege level to escalate their privileges to the highest level. This means that a user who should have limited access can gain full control over the system, potentially leading to unauthorized actions such as data manipulation, content deletion, or administrative access. The issue arises from improper validation of user privileges within the API, making it possible for malicious actors to exploit this flaw.
How To Fix
Latest published version: 10.0.4 as of 23 Oct 2026
pip install --upgrade "plone-restapi==10.0.4"Upgrading to it may include breaking changes; the version below is the minimum fixed release for this vulnerability.
If you need the minimum change
6.2.1
This is the first release that contains the fix.
pip install --upgrade "plone-restapi==6.2.1"Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
As a temporary workaround, you can restrict access to the API for users with lower privilege levels until the package is updated. This can be done by modifying the permissions in your Plone site settings to limit access to sensitive API endpoints.
Conclusion
The CVE-2020-7938 vulnerability in the plone.restapi package poses a significant risk by allowing privilege escalation for certain users. It is crucial to update to version 6.2.1 or later to mitigate this risk. Additionally, using tools like Vulert can help monitor and alert for such vulnerabilities in real-time.
See every vulnerability recorded for plone-restapi →
FAQ
CVE-2020-7938 is a vulnerability in the plone.restapi package that allows users to escalate their privileges, potentially leading to unauthorized access and control over the Plone system.
The affected versions are plone.restapi 5.2.0 through 5.2.1.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your application is affected by this vulnerability without requiring any signup.
The CVSS score of this vulnerability is 8.8, indicating a high severity level.
If you cannot update the package immediately, consider restricting access to the API for users with lower privilege levels as a temporary workaround.
References
Related vulnerabilities
Recent vulnerabilities recorded for plone-restapi.
