Summary
Disabled Hostname Verification in Opencast
Opencast before version 8.9 and 7.9 disables HTTPS hostname verification of its HTTP client used for a large portion of Opencast's HTTP requests.
Hostname verification is an important part when using HTTPS to ensure that the presented certificate is valid for the host. Disabling it can allow for man-in-the-middle attacks.
Self-Signed Certificates
Please be aware that fixing the problem means that Opencast will not simply accept any self-signed certificates any longer without properly importing them. If you need those, please make sure to import them into the Java key store. Better yet, get a valid certificate e.g. from Let's Encrypt.
Impact
CVE-2020-26234 has a CVSS score of 4.8 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (7.9, 8.9); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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This problem is fixed in Opencast 7.9 and Opencast 8.9
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2020-26234? CVE-2020-26234 is a high-severity security vulnerability in org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel (maven), affecting versions < 7.9. It is fixed in 7.9, 8.9.
- How severe is CVE-2020-26234? CVE-2020-26234 has a CVSS score of 4.8 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel are affected by CVE-2020-26234? org.opencastproject:opencast-kernel (maven) versions < 7.9 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2020-26234? Yes. CVE-2020-26234 is fixed in 7.9, 8.9. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2020-26234 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-26234 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2020-26234 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2020-26234?
- Upgrade
org.opencastproject:opencast-kernelto 7.9 or later - Upgrade
org.opencastproject:opencast-kernelto 8.9 or later
- Upgrade