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CVE Record

CVE-2015-20110: JHipster generator-jhipster before 2.23.0 allows a timing attack against validateToken due to a string comp...

JHipster generator-jhipster before 2.23.0 allows a timing attack against validateToken due to a string comparison that stops at the first character that is different. Attackers can guess tokens by brute forcing one character at a time and observing the timing. This of course drastically reduces the search space to a linear amount of guesses based on the token length times the possible characters.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2015-20110 concerns older JHipster generator output where token validation could leak information through response timing. A patient attacker might reduce the work needed to guess a valid token. The source data does not show active exploitation or a CVSS score, but authentication-token weaknesses deserve timely review in legacy JHipster applications.

Executive priority

Treat this as a focused legacy-code review item, not an emergency internet-wide event. Prioritize systems where JHipster-generated authentication code protects user registration, password reset, API access, or other business-critical token flows.

Technical view

generator-jhipster before 2.23.0 used a validateToken string comparison that stopped at the first differing character. This creates a timing side channel that can reveal correct token prefixes over repeated attempts. The provided references point to GitHub issue and commits around the v2.23.0 fix, but affected product metadata is incomplete.

Likely exposure

Most likely exposure is legacy applications generated with generator-jhipster before 2.23.0 that retained the vulnerable validateToken implementation. Current applications, heavily customized code, or apps already aligned with v2.23.0 may not be affected. The bundle lists affected vendor/product as n/a, so inventory verification is required.

Exploitation context

The provided bundle marks KEV as false and includes no cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation would depend on making repeated token validation attempts and reliably measuring timing differences. Network noise, rate limits, token lifetime, and monitoring can affect feasibility, but the issue directly concerns token guessing risk.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sufficient to describe the timing side channel and version boundary, but incomplete for severity scoring, CWE mapping, and confirmed affected downstream applications. Validate actual generated code, because generator vulnerabilities may persist in copied application code after the generator itself is no longer installed.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify applications generated with generator-jhipster before 2.23.0.
  • Upgrade or align generated code with the v2.23.0 validateToken fix.
  • Review vendor issue and commits before changing customized authentication code.
  • Add rate limiting and monitoring around token validation endpoints.
  • Retire or rotate exposed tokens if compromise is suspected.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory JHipster generator versions used for legacy applications.
  • Inspect validateToken for early-exit string comparison behavior.
  • Compare local authentication code against the referenced v2.23.0 changes.
  • Run regression tests for token validation success and failure paths.
  • Review logs for abnormal repeated token validation attempts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
6

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

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ATT&CK lookup starting points

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description · low confidence lookup

Credential and access behavior lookup

The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2015-20110 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
5Source links

CVSS and timeline data

No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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