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CVE-2020-15115

No minimum password length in etcd

5.8 MediumFix available

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

1.34%Up 0.7 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

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 MediumCVSS: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 MediumCVSS: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:

Record
GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
CVSS 3.1
5.8 MediumCVSS: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 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.0
5.0 MediumAV: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 HighCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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:

Record
GHSA-4993-m7g5-r9hh
CVSS 3.1
5.8 MediumCVSS: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 HighCVSS: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 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
CVSS 3.1
7.5 HighCVSS: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

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3
Go
3.4.0 up to 3.4.10
3.4.10
go.etcd.io/etcd/client/v3
Go
before 3.3.23
3.3.23
etcd
Azure Linux:2
before 3.5.0-3
3.5.0-3
etcd
Debian:12
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5
3.3.25+dfsg-5
etcd
Debian:13
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5
3.3.25+dfsg-5
etcd
Debian:14
before 3.3.25+dfsg-5
3.3.25+dfsg-5
etcd
Red 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-debuginfo
Red 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-debugsource
Red 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
Ubuntu: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
Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
etcd
Ubuntu: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
etcd
Ubuntu: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
etcd
Ubuntu: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
etcd
Ubuntu: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 less
3.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.2+esm13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.33.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.3+esm13.4.30-1ubuntu0.24.04.3+esm2
None known
etcd
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
3.5.16-4
None known
etcd
Ubuntu:26.10
All versions, plus listed versions
3.5.16-103.5.30-2
None known
etcd
Ubuntu: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

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, facts
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE 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

Show 33 moreShow less
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