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Kotlin CVE-2020-15824

HIGH
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2020-08-08 cve@mitre.org
8.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Impact

CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A remote attacker could escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access by sending crafted requests to the affected application.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 1.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

In JetBrains Kotlin from 1.4-M1 to 1.4-RC (as Kotlin 1.3.7x is not affected by the issue. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Improper Privilege Management vulnerability could allow attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply principle of least privilege, validate privilege transitions, implement proper role separation.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269), which allows attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access. In JetBrains Kotlin from 1.4-M1 to 1.4-RC (as Kotlin 1.3.7x is not affected by the issue. Fixed version is 1.4.0) there is a script-cache privilege escalation vulnerability due to kotlin-main-kts cached scripts in the system temp directory, which is shared by all users by default. Affected products include: Jetbrains Kotlin, Oracle Banking Extensibility Workbench, Oracle Communications Cloud Native Core Policy.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.8 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

In JetBrains Kotlin from 1.4-M1 to 1.4-RC (as Kotlin 1.3.7x is not affected by the issue. Fixed version is 1.4.0) there is a script-cache privilege escalation vulnerability due to kotlin-main-kts cached scripts in the system temp directory, which is shared by all users by default.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.8%
Top 24% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.8%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

46
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +2
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:jetbrains:kotlin:1.4.0:milestone1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:jetbrains:kotlin:1.4.0:milestone2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:jetbrains:kotlin:1.4.0:milestone3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:jetbrains:kotlin:1.4.0:rc:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_extensibility_workbench:14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_extensibility_workbench:14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:banking_extensibility_workbench:14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:oracle:communications_cloud_native_core_policy:1.14.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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