Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-15246 lets unauthenticated attackers read local files from vulnerable October CMS servers. The business risk is exposure of sensitive server files, configuration, or secrets. The issue affects October CMS builds from 1.0.421 before 1.0.469 and was patched in Build 469 and v1.1.0.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority confidentiality issue for any affected public October CMS site. It does not imply code execution, but file disclosure can expose credentials and enable broader compromise.
Technical view
October CMS, a Laravel-based self-hosted CMS, had a local file inclusion flaw reachable over the network without credentials. The CVSS 3.1 vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N, indicating high confidentiality impact without integrity or availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to October CMS installations running versions >= 1.0.421 and < 1.0.469, especially internet-facing self-hosted sites. The provided sources do not identify other affected products or hosted services.
Exploitation context
The CVE and advisory state that attackers can read local files via a specially crafted request. CISA KEV is false in the provided bundle, and no cited source confirms active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports unauthenticated local file inclusion with high confidentiality impact. The source bundle identifies CWE-863 and the patch commit, but does not provide confirmed exploitation, detailed root cause beyond authorization weakness, or additional vendor mitigations.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade October CMS to Build 469, v1.0.469, v1.1.0, or later.
- Prioritize upgrades for internet-facing October CMS instances.
- Check the October CMS advisory for any environment-specific guidance.
- Review whether exposed configuration files may require secret rotation.
- Document remediation status for each affected CMS instance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory October CMS instances and record their exact build versions.
- Confirm no production instance runs >= 1.0.421 and < 1.0.469.
- Verify upgraded systems report Build 469, v1.0.469, v1.1.0, or later.
- Review web and application logs for suspicious file-read indicators.
- Assess whether sensitive local files or secrets were exposed.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-863: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-15246 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/octobercms/october/security/advisories/GHSA-xwjr-6fj7-fc6hCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/octobercms/library/commit/80aab47f044a2660aa352450f55137598f362aa4CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Authorization
Incorrect Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.