CVE-2020-22785 : What You Need to Know
Learn about CVE-2020-22785 affecting Etherpad < 1.8.3, leading to a denial of service vulnerability. Find out how to mitigate and prevent this issue.
Etherpad < 1.8.3 is affected by a missing lock check leading to a denial of service vulnerability.
Understanding CVE-2020-22785
What is CVE-2020-22785?
Etherpad < 1.8.3 is susceptible to a denial of service due to a missing lock check, allowing attackers to flatten all pads by targeting random pad import endpoints.
The Impact of CVE-2020-22785
This vulnerability could result in a denial of service, potentially disrupting the availability of Etherpad instances.
Technical Details of CVE-2020-22785
Vulnerability Description
- Etherpad < 1.8.3 lacks a lock check, enabling a denial of service attack by flattening all pads.
Affected Systems and Versions
- Product: Etherpad
- Vendor: N/A
- Versions affected: < 1.8.3
Exploitation Mechanism
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by aggressively targeting random pad import endpoints with empty data.
Mitigation and Prevention
Immediate Steps to Take
- Upgrade Etherpad to version 1.8.3 or newer to mitigate the vulnerability.
- Implement rate limiting and ownership checks on pad import endpoints.
Long-Term Security Practices
- Regularly update and patch Etherpad to address security vulnerabilities.
- Monitor and restrict access to pad import functionalities.
- Conduct security assessments and audits to identify and remediate potential vulnerabilities.