Threats / VMware Tanzu / CVE-2020-5410
CVE-2020-5410
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
VMware Tanzu Spring Cloud Configuration (Config) Server vulnerability
Spring Cloud Configuration Server contains a path traversal vulnerability allowing unauthorized access to arbitrary configuration files on affected systems.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A path traversal flaw in Spring Cloud Configuration Server enables attackers to bypass access controls and retrieve sensitive configuration data, credentials, and application secrets stored outside intended directories.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-255EPSS 0.95586 (verify live)6Exploit Public PoC7CVSS 7.5 (CISA)4CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: partial4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
8 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.95586 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) · Affected: VMware Tanzu, Spring Cloud Configuration (Config) Server. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-23 Relative Path Traversal — weakness family: Path traversal / file.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: partialCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 661 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a public proof-of-concept / detection template). Catalog entries: Metasploit module, nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft malicious requests with path traversal sequences to navigate the file system and access configuration files outside the designated config directory.
Business
Sensitive application credentials, database passwords, and API keys are exposed to unauthorized parties.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I extract exposed credentials and secrets from retrieved configuration files to gain access to backend systems and databases.
Business
Attackers obtain valid authentication material enabling lateral movement and unauthorized access to critical infrastructure.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I use obtained credentials to access databases, internal services, and cloud resources tied to the compromised application.
Business
Data breach scope expands beyond the configuration server to include customer data, intellectual property, and operational systems.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05