CVE-2020-36851
Rob--W / cors-anywhere Misconfigured CORS Proxy Allows SSRF
Description
Rob -- W / cors-anywhere instances configured as an open proxy allow unauthenticated external users to induce the server to make HTTP requests to arbitrary targets (SSRF). Because the proxy forwards requests and headers, an attacker can reach internal-only endpoints and link-local metadata services, retrieve instance role credentials or other sensitive metadata, and interact with internal APIs and services that are not intended to be internet-facing. The vulnerability is exploitable by sending crafted requests to the proxy with the target resource encoded in the URL; many cors-anywhere deployments forward arbitrary methods and headers (including PUT), which can permit exploitation of IMDSv2 workflows as well as access to internal management APIs. Successful exploitation can result in theft of cloud credentials, unauthorized access to internal services, remote code execution or privilege escalation (depending on reachable backends), data exfiltration, and full compromise of cloud resources. Mitigation includes: restricting the proxy to trusted origins or authentication, whitelisting allowed target hosts, preventing access to link-local and internal IP ranges, removing support for unsafe HTTP methods/headers, enabling cloud provider mitigations, and deploying network-level protections.
INFO
Published Date :
Sept. 25, 2025, 3:16 p.m.
Last Modified :
Sept. 25, 2025, 3:16 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
Yes !
Source :
[email protected]
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2020-36851
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | 83251b91-4cc7-4094-a5c7-464a1b83ea10 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | [email protected] |
Solution
- Restrict proxy to trusted origins or use authentication.
- Whitelist allowed target hosts.
- Prevent access to internal IP ranges.
- Disable unsafe HTTP methods and headers.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2020-36851.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2020-36851 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2020-36851
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2020-36851 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2020-36851 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by [email protected]
Sep. 25, 2025
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description Rob -- W / cors-anywhere instances configured as an open proxy allow unauthenticated external users to induce the server to make HTTP requests to arbitrary targets (SSRF). Because the proxy forwards requests and headers, an attacker can reach internal-only endpoints and link-local metadata services, retrieve instance role credentials or other sensitive metadata, and interact with internal APIs and services that are not intended to be internet-facing. The vulnerability is exploitable by sending crafted requests to the proxy with the target resource encoded in the URL; many cors-anywhere deployments forward arbitrary methods and headers (including PUT), which can permit exploitation of IMDSv2 workflows as well as access to internal management APIs. Successful exploitation can result in theft of cloud credentials, unauthorized access to internal services, remote code execution or privilege escalation (depending on reachable backends), data exfiltration, and full compromise of cloud resources. Mitigation includes: restricting the proxy to trusted origins or authentication, whitelisting allowed target hosts, preventing access to link-local and internal IP ranges, removing support for unsafe HTTP methods/headers, enabling cloud provider mitigations, and deploying network-level protections. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X Added CWE CWE-918 Added CWE CWE-942 Added Reference https://github.com/Rob--W/cors-anywhere/issues/152 Added Reference https://github.com/Rob--W/cors-anywhere/issues/78 Added Reference https://www.certik.com/resources/blog/cors-anywhere-dangers-of-misconfigured-third-party-software Added Reference https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/rob-w-cors-anywhere-misconfigured-cors-proxy-allows-ssrf