Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-25864 is a cross-site scripting flaw in HashiCorp Consul and Consul Enterprise KV raw mode. An attacker-controlled value could be rendered in a user’s browser in affected deployments. The public bundle names fixed versions but does not provide CVSS, CWE, or active exploitation evidence.
Executive priority
Schedule remediation in the normal vulnerability window, faster for broadly reachable Consul interfaces. The issue affects operator-facing infrastructure software, but the available public evidence does not support emergency treatment absent exposed vulnerable systems.
Technical view
HashiCorp Consul and Consul Enterprise up to 1.9.4 had XSS exposure in the key-value API raw mode. The issue is reported fixed in 1.9.5, 1.8.10, and 1.7.14. Source details are limited, so validation should focus on version inventory and reachable KV raw mode surfaces.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Consul or Consul Enterprise versions up to 1.9.4 are deployed and the KV raw mode endpoint is reachable by browser users. Business risk rises if Consul interfaces are broadly accessible or used by privileged operators.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. This should be treated as a plausible browser-side attack path against affected Consul deployments, not as evidence of in-the-wild exploitation.
Researcher notes
The bundle lacks CVSS, CWE, detailed exploit prerequisites, and proof-of-exploitation references. Avoid assuming unauthenticated reachability or internet-scale exploitation. Focus investigation on affected Consul versions, KV raw mode reachability, and whether trusted operators could encounter untrusted KV content.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Consul to 1.9.5, 1.8.10, 1.7.14, or later supported releases.
- Include Consul Enterprise installations in the upgrade scope.
- Check HashiCorp advisory guidance before relying on temporary workarounds.
- Restrict Consul HTTP/API access to trusted users and networks pending upgrade.
- Track Gentoo package advisories if Consul was installed through Gentoo.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all Consul and Consul Enterprise versions across environments.
- Flag any deployment running Consul 1.9.4 or earlier release lines below fixed versions.
- Confirm whether KV raw mode is reachable from user browsers.
- Review Consul HTTP/API exposure, including internal and external access paths.
- Verify installed versions after remediation.
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.
CVE-2020-25864 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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 and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/category/consulCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://discuss.hashicorp.com/t/hcsec-2021-07-consul-api-kv-endpoint-vulnerable-to-cross-site-scripting/23368CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- GLSA-202208-09CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
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.