CVE-2020-15115
No minimum password length in etcd
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
5.8
No minimum password length in etcd
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
CVE-2020-15115- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-521
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-7012
5.8
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
EUVD-2022-7012- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
5.8
etcd has no minimum password length
Vulnerability type
Access Control
Workarounds
The etcdctl and etcd API do not enforce a specific password length during user creation or user password update operations. It is the responsibility of the administrator to enforce these requirements.
Detail
etcd does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users’ passwords with little computational effort.
References
Find out more on this vulnerability in the security audit report
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Contact the etcd security committee
- Record
GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-521
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
5.8
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
CVE-2020-15115- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - CVSS 2.0
- 5.0 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-521
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVAZL-6392
7.5
CVE-2020-15115 affecting package etcd for versions less than 3.5.0-3
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
AZL-6392- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
7.5
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
CVE-2020-15115- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Show 4 moreShow less
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2020-15115
7.5
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2020-15115- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
5.8
etcd has no minimum password length
Vulnerability type
Access Control
Workarounds
The etcdctl and etcd API do not enforce a specific password length during user creation or user password update operations. It is the responsibility of the administrator to enforce these requirements.
Detail
etcd does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users’ passwords with little computational effort.
References
Find out more on this vulnerability in the security audit report
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Contact the etcd security committee
- Record
GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-521
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVRHSA-2021:0916
7.7
Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat OpenStack Platform 16.1.4 (etcd) security update
- Record
RHSA-2021:0916- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-15115
5.8
etcd before versions 3.3.23 and 3.4.10 does not perform any password length validation, which allows for very short passwords, such as those with a length of one. This may allow an attacker to guess or brute-force users' passwords with little computational effort.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-15115- CVSS 3.1
- 5.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3Go |
3.4.0 up to 3.4.10 | 3.4.10 |
go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3Go |
before 3.3.23 | 3.3.23 |
etcdAzure Linux:2 |
before 3.5.0-3 | 3.5.0-3 |
etcdDebian:12 |
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5 | 3.3.25+dfsg-5 |
etcdDebian:13 |
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5 | 3.3.25+dfsg-5 |
etcdDebian:14 |
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5 | 3.3.25+dfsg-5 |
etcdRed Hat:openstack:16.1::el8 From an advisory covering 6 CVEs |
before 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost | 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost |
etcd-debuginfoRed Hat:openstack:16.1::el8 From an advisory covering 6 CVEs |
before 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost | 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost |
etcd-debugsourceRed Hat:openstack:16.1::el8 From an advisory covering 6 CVEs |
before 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost | 0:3.3.23-1.el8ost |
etcdUbuntu:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.2.0+dfsg-22.2.1+dfsg-12.2.2+dfsg-12.2.2+dfsg-22.2.3+dfsg-12.2.5+dfsg-12.2.5+dfsg-1ubuntu1 |
None known |
Show 7 moreShow less
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
etcdUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.1.0-13.2.9+dfsg-23.2.9+dfsg-33.2.17+dfsg-13.2.17+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1~esm13.2.17+dfsg-1ubuntu0.13.2.17+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm13.2.17+dfsg-1ubuntu0.1+esm2 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:Pro:20.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.2.26+dfsg-33.2.26+dfsg-43.2.26+dfsg-63.2.26+dfsg-6ubuntu0.13.2.26+dfsg-6ubuntu0.23.2.26+dfsg-6ubuntu0.2+esm1 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:Pro:22.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.3.25+dfsg-63.3.25+dfsg-73.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.13.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.1+esm13.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.23.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.2+esm13.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.2+esm23.3.25+dfsg-7ubuntu0.22.04.2+esm3 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:Pro:24.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.4.23-4ubuntu23.4.30-13.4.30-1build13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.2 Show 4 moreShow less3.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.2+esm13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.33.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.3+esm13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.3+esm2 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:25.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.5.16-4 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:26.10 |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.5.16-103.5.30-2 |
None known |
etcdUbuntu:Pro:26.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.5.16-43.5.16-103.5.16-10ubuntu0.26.04.1~esm1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-15115 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.8) in Etcd-io Etcd, published August 6, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.34%, the 71st percentile. Fixed in go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3 3.4.10.
References
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/L6B6R43Y7M3DCHWK3L3UVGE2K6WWECMP
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15115
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]/message/L6B6R43Y7M3DCHWK3L3UVGE2K6WWECMP
github.com/advisories/GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2020-15115
Show 33 moreShow less
github.com/etcd-io/etcd
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2021:0916
access.redhat.com/security/updates/classification
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868870
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868872
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868874
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868878
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868880
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1868883
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/advisories/2021/rhsa-2021_0916.json
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15106
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15106
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15106
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-p4g4-wgrh-qrg2
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15112
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15112
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15112
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-m332-53r6-2w93
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15113
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15113
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15113
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-chh6-ppwq-jh92
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15114
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15114
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15114
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-2xhq-gv6c-p224
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15115
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15115
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2020-15136
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15136
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15136
github.com/etcd-io/etcd/security/advisories/GHSA-wr2v-9rpq-c35q
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-15115