CVE-2020-15149
Account takeover in NodeBB
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- GitHub_M
Description
NodeBB before version 1.14.3 has a bug introduced in version 1.12.2 in the validation logic that makes it possible to change the password of any user on a running NodeBB forum by sending a specially crafted socket.io call to the server. This could lead to a privilege escalation event due via an account takeover. As a workaround you may cherry-pick the following commit from the project's repository to your running instance of NodeBB: 16cee1b03ba3eee177834a1fdac4aa8a12b39d2a. This is fixed in version 1.14.3.
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 55 days later
· 55 days later
Published
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Critical9.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 2.4% · top 16% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.9.
Weakness
Affected products
References (4)
- https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/security/advisories/GHSA-hr66-c8pg-5mg7 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB/commit/c2477d9d5ffc43e5ffeb537ea2ceb4ce9592aa39 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://zeroauth.ltd/blog/2020/08/20/proof-of-concept-exploit-for-cve-2020-15149-nodebb-arbitrary-user-password-change/ (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159560/NodeBB-Forum-1.14.2-Account-Takeover.html (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2020-15149)Record last updated .