CVE-2020-26214
LDAP authentication bypass in Alerta
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
LDAP authentication bypass in Alerta
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
- Record
CVE-2020-26214- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-0001
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
- Record
EUVD-2020-0001- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-5hmm-x8q8-w5jh
LDAP authentication bypass with empty password
Impact
Users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider.
Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated binds (eg. default on Active Directory) are affected.
Patches
A fix has been implemented that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. See https://github.com/alerta/alerta/pull/1345
Workarounds
LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
References
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4513#section-5.1.2 https://pypi.org/project/alerta-server/8.1.0/
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Add a comment to the issue #1277
- Email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-5hmm-x8q8-w5jh- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
- Record
CVE-2020-26214- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.5 High
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
- Record
CVE-2020-26214- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-5hmm-x8q8-w5jh
LDAP authentication bypass with empty password
Impact
Users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider.
Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated binds (eg. default on Active Directory) are affected.
Patches
A fix has been implemented that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. See https://github.com/alerta/alerta/pull/1345
Workarounds
LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
References
https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4513#section-5.1.2 https://pypi.org/project/alerta-server/8.1.0/
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Add a comment to the issue #1277
- Email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-5hmm-x8q8-w5jh- CVSS 4.0
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N - CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-287
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVPYSEC-2020-159 No score
In Alerta before version 8.1.0, users may be able to bypass LDAP authentication if they provide an empty password when Alerta server is configure to use LDAP as the authorization provider. Only deployments where LDAP servers are configured to allow unauthenticated authentication mechanism for anonymous authorization are affected. A fix has been implemented in version 8.1.0 that returns HTTP 401 Unauthorized response for any authentication attempts where the password field is empty. As a workaround LDAP administrators can disallow unauthenticated bind requests by clients.
- Record
PYSEC-2020-159- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
alerta-serverPyPI |
8.0.0 up to 8.1.0 | 8.1.0 |
alerta-serverPyPI |
before 7.5.7 | 7.5.7 |
alerta-serverPyPI |
8.0.0 up to 8.1.0, plus listed versions 8.0.18.0.28.0.3 |
8.1.0 |
alerta-serverPyPI |
before 7.5.7, plus listed versions 3.1.23.2.03.2.33.2.43.2.6 Show 45 moreShow less3.2.73.2.83.2.93.3.03.3.13.3.23.3.33.3.43.3.53.3.63.3.74.0.04.0.14.0.24.0.34.0.44.0.54.0.64.0.74.0.84.0.94.1.04.1.14.1.24.1.44.1.54.1.64.1.74.1.84.10.04.10.14.10.24.10.34.10.44.10.54.2.14.2.24.2.34.2.44.2.54.2.64.3.04.3.14.3.24.4.0 |
7.5.7 |
alerta-serverPyPI |
before 7.5.7, 8.0.0 up to 8.1.0, plus listed versions 3.1.23.2.03.2.33.2.43.2.6 Show 45 moreShow less3.2.73.2.83.2.93.3.03.3.13.3.23.3.33.3.43.3.53.3.63.3.74.0.04.0.14.0.24.0.34.0.44.0.54.0.64.0.74.0.84.0.94.1.04.1.14.1.24.1.44.1.54.1.64.1.74.1.84.2.14.2.24.2.34.2.44.2.54.2.64.3.04.3.14.3.24.4.04.4.14.4.24.4.54.4.64.4.74.4.8 |
7.5.78.1.0 |
Public exploits
Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.
| Source | Link | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Nuclei | Alerta < 8.1.0 - Authentication Bypass |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, Nuclei, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-26214 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.1) in Alerta, published November 6, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 65.9%, the 99th percentile. Fixed in alerta-server 8.1.0.
References
Left out here: 355 versions. The JSON record has them.