What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-8201?

CVE-2020-8201 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 5.1%.

Node.js CVE-2020-8201

Q: Which versions of Node.js are affected by CVE-2020-8201?

Node.js < 12.18.4 and < 14.11 can be exploited to perform HTTP desync attacks and deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users.

HIGH

HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CWE-444)

2020-09-18 support@hackerone.com

Information Disclosure Node.js Request Smuggling Fedora Leap Node Js Opensuse Fedoraproject

7.4

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-444 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V4 - API and Web Service HTTP request consistency
Impact	CVSS score of 7.4 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, high complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 5.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Node.js < 12.18.4 and < 14.11 can be exploited to perform HTTP desync attacks and deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Enforce strict HTTP parsing, normalize requests at proxy layer, use HTTP/2 end-to-end, reject ambiguous headers.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as HTTP Request/Response Smuggling (CWE-444), which allows attackers to manipulate HTTP request interpretation between frontend and backend servers. Node.js < 12.18.4 and < 14.11 can be exploited to perform HTTP desync attacks and deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. The payloads can be crafted by an attacker to hijack user sessions, poison cookies, perform clickjacking, and a multitude of other attacks depending on the architecture of the underlying system. The attack was possible due to a bug in processing of carrier-return symbols in the HTTP header names. Affected products include: Nodejs Node.Js, Opensuse Leap, Fedoraproject Fedora.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.4 HIGH

AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

Node.js < 12.18.4 and < 14.11 can be exploited to perform HTTP desync attacks and deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. The payloads can be crafted by an attacker to hijack user sessions, poison cookies, perform clickjacking, and a multitude of other attacks depending on the architecture of the underlying system. The attack was possible due to a bug in processing of carrier-return symbols in the HTTP header names.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

5.1%

Top 9% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

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 5.1%

Patch available No

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

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +5

CVSS: +37

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

HTTP Request Smuggling HIGH

HTTP request smuggling exploits inconsistencies in how front-end and back-end servers parse HTTP message boundaries.

Information Disclosure MEDIUM

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.