CVE-2020-7938: Privilege Escalation in plone
Summary
CVE-2020-7938: plone.restapi in Plone 5.2.0 through 5.2.1 allows users with a certain privilege level to escalate their privileges up to the highest level. Affects plone versions >= 5.2.0, < 5.2.2. Fixed in 5.2.2. How to fix ↓
Also tracked for
- plone-restapi · PyPI
- plone-restapi · PyPI
- plone-restapi · 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 built on top of the Zope application server. It provides a robust and flexible platform for creating and managing websites. Plone 5.2.0 through 5.2.1 is affected by a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows users with a certain privilege level to escalate their privileges up to the highest level.
Vulnerability Detail
The vulnerability in plone.restapi allows privileged users to elevate their privileges to the highest level. This can lead to unauthorized access and potential misuse of administrative functionalities. The vulnerability was introduced in version 5.2.0 and fixed in version 5.2.2.
How To Fix
Latest published version: 6.2.2 as of 23 Oct 2026
pip install --upgrade "plone==6.2.2"Upgrading to it may include breaking changes; the version below is the minimum fixed release for this vulnerability.
If you need the minimum change
5.2.2
This is the first release that contains the fix.
pip install --upgrade "plone==5.2.2"Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →
Workaround
There is no known workaround for this vulnerability. It is recommended to apply the fix by upgrading to the latest version of Plone.
Conclusion
Plone users should upgrade to version 5.2.2 or later to fix the privilege escalation vulnerability. It is important to apply the fix as soon as possible to prevent unauthorized access and potential misuse of administrative functionalities. For further support on vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.
See every vulnerability recorded for plone →
FAQ
This vulnerability allows privileged users to escalate their privileges, potentially gaining unauthorized access to sensitive information and administrative functionalities.
Users of Plone versions 5.2.0 through 5.2.1 are affected by this vulnerability.
You can use the Vulert playground at Vulert Scanner to check if your Plone installation is affected by this vulnerability. Simply provide your Pipfile.lock file and the playground will analyze it for any known vulnerabilities.
There are no known exploits for this vulnerability at the moment. However, it is important to apply the fix as soon as possible to prevent any potential misuse of the vulnerability.
You can find more information about this vulnerability in the Plone advisory database at https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/blob/main/vulns/plone/PYSEC-2020-87.yaml.
References
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