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CVE Record

CVE-2020-27223: In Eclipse Jetty 9.4.6.v20170531 to 9.4.36.v20210114 (inclusive), 10.0.0, and 11.0.0 when Jetty handles a r...

In Eclipse Jetty 9.4.6.v20170531 to 9.4.36.v20210114 (inclusive), 10.0.0, and 11.0.0 when Jetty handles a request containing multiple Accept headers with a large number of “quality” (i.e. q) parameters, the server may enter a denial of service (DoS) state due to high CPU usage processing those quality values, resulting in minutes of CPU time exhausted processing those quality values.

MediumCVSS 5.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a denial-of-service issue in Eclipse Jetty. Certain malformed HTTP request headers can make affected Jetty versions spend minutes of CPU time parsing header quality values, reducing service availability. The sources do not show data theft, code execution, or active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate availability risk. It is not described as data compromise, but affected public services could be degraded by CPU exhaustion. Patch during the next normal security maintenance window, faster for exposed production systems.

Technical view

Affected Jetty versions process multiple Accept headers with many q parameters inefficiently, causing high CPU usage and availability impact. The CVE maps to CWE-407 and CVSS 3.1 score 5.2, with no confidentiality or integrity impact stated in the source bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in Java services or embedded products running Jetty 9.4.6.v20170531 through 9.4.36.v20210114, 10.0.0, or 11.0.0. Transitive Jetty use matters because Apache project threads show dependency upgrades for this CVE.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not indicate CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The attack condition described is request handling with multiple Accept headers and many q parameters, leading to CPU exhaustion rather than compromise.

Researcher notes

Evidence is strongest for affected Jetty ranges and DoS behavior. Fix details are not fully present in the bundle, so remediation should follow Eclipse Jetty GHSA guidance and downstream vendor advisories rather than assuming a single safe version.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory direct and transitive Eclipse Jetty dependencies.
  • Upgrade Jetty to a release outside the affected ranges using Eclipse guidance.
  • Prioritize internet-facing or latency-sensitive Jetty services first.
  • Review downstream platform advisories where Jetty is bundled.
  • Monitor CPU saturation and unusual Accept header patterns.

Validation and detection

  • Check dependency manifests and runtime classpaths for Jetty versions.
  • Confirm deployed artifacts no longer contain affected Jetty releases.
  • Review SBOM and dependency scanner results for CVE-2020-27223.
  • Validate affected services have CPU and request-rate monitoring.
  • Document any exception with compensating controls and owner.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
10

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

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 · low confidence lookup

CWE-407: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. 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.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-27223 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.2 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
41Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.2CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.53.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

5.2Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-27223Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
The Eclipse FoundationEclipse Jetty9.4.6.v20170531, unspecified, 10.0.0, 11.0.0unaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-407

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-407 · source CWE mapping

Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity

Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

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