Summary
Keycloak discloses information without authentication
A flaw was found in keycloak in versions prior to 13.0.0. The client registration endpoint allows fetching information about PUBLIC clients (like client secret) without authentication which could be an issue if the same PUBLIC client changed to CONFIDENTIAL later. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.
Impact
The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access. Typical impact: unauthorized access to functions or data reserved for authenticated parties.
CVE-2020-27838 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no 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 (13.0.0); 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.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2020-27838? CVE-2020-27838 is a medium-severity improper authentication vulnerability in org.keycloak:keycloak-core (maven), affecting versions < 13.0.0. It is fixed in 13.0.0. The application does not adequately verify the identity of a user, device, or process before granting access.
- How severe is CVE-2020-27838? CVE-2020-27838 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). 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.keycloak:keycloak-core are affected by CVE-2020-27838? org.keycloak:keycloak-core (maven) versions < 13.0.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2020-27838? Yes. CVE-2020-27838 is fixed in 13.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2020-27838 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2020-27838 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-2020-27838 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-2020-27838? Upgrade
org.keycloak:keycloak-coreto 13.0.0 or later.