CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-5268 — Sustainsys Saml2 security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.3

In Saml2 Authentication Services for ASP.NET versions before 1.0.2, and between 2.0.0 and 2.6.0, there is a vulnerability in how tokens are validated in some cases. Saml2 tokens are usually used as bearer tokens - a caller that presents a token is assumed to be the subject of the token. There is also support in the Saml2 protocol for issuing tokens that is tied to a subject through other means, e.g. holder-of-key where possession of a private key must be proved. The Sustainsys.Saml2 library incorrectly treats all incoming tokens as bearer tokens, even though they have another subject confirmation method specified. This could be used by an attacker that could get access to Saml2 tokens with another subject confirmation method than bearer. The attacker could then use such a token to create a log in session. This vulnerability is patched in versions 1.0.2 and 2.7.0.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.3 (3.1)
Published
2020-04-21
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
software/application
Weaknesses
CWE-303, CWE-287

Affected products

  • sustainsys / saml2

Showing 1 representative product identities from 2 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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