Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in matrix-synapse (CVE-2020-26891)
Summary
Cross-site scripting in matrix-synapse (CVE-2020-26891). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Mitigation: upgrade to 1.21.0 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Impact
The fallback authentication endpoint served via Synapse was vulnerable to cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. The impact depends on the configuration of the domain that Synapse is deployed on, but may allow access to cookies and other browser data, CSRF vulnerabilities, and access to other resources served on the same domain or parent domains.
Patches
This is fixed by #8444, which is included in Synapse v1.21.0.
Workarounds
If the homeserver is not configured to use reCAPTCHA, consent (terms of service), or single sign-on then the affected endpoint can be blocked at a reverse proxy:
/_matrix/client/r0/auth/.*/fallback/web/_matrix/client/unstable/auth/.*/fallback/web
Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD GitHub Advisory OSV
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2020-26891 has been found in matrix-synapse.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade matrix-synapse to 1.21.0 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "matrix-synapse CVE-2020-26891" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2020-26891 (matrix-synapse) — CWE-79
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated
Patched: 1.21.0 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Cross-site scripting (XSS) (CWE-79) exists in matrix-synapse.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of matrix-synapse.
Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to 1.21.0.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'matrix-synapse' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'matrix-synapse' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
matrix-synapseを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade matrix-synapse to 1.21.0ステージング環境で 1.21.0 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2020-26891 matrix-synapse Fixed in: 1.21.1-1
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- package github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web matrix.org