---
title: "CVE-2020-10661: HashiCorp Vault Improper Privilege Management"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2020-10661/
description: "CVE-2020-10661 (github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go)): HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise versions 0.11.0 through 1.3.3 may, under certain circumstances, have…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2020-03-23
date_modified: 2024-09-16
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2020-10661"
kev: false
cvss: 9.3
epss: 0.01116
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2020-10661: HashiCorp Vault Improper Privilege Management

**Signal:** Critical and remotely reachable. No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 1.1% , percentile 66: FIRST’s model estimates a 1.1% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 66% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
- Only applies if your dependency tree includes github.com/hashicorp/vault (Go) >= 0.11.0, < 1.3.4, fixed in 1.3.4 . Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

## What it is

HashiCorp Vault and Vault Enterprise versions 0.11.0 through 1.3.3 may, under certain circumstances, have existing nested-path policies grant access to Namespaces created after-the-fact. Fixed in 1.3.4.

## Affected packages

- Go `github.com/hashicorp/vault` >= 0.11.0, < 1.3.4 → fixed: 1.3.4

## Affected products (CVE record)

- n/a n/a: see advisory

## Severity

- GitHub CVSS 4.0: 9.3 `CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`

## Exploitation

- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 1.12% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 66.

## Sources

- [GitHub Advisory GHSA-j6vv-vv26-rh7c](https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-j6vv-vv26-rh7c)
- [CVE.org record CVE-2020-10661](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-10661)
- [NVD entry CVE-2020-10661](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10661)
- [hashicorp.com](https://www.hashicorp.com/blog/category/vault/)
- [github.com](https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#134-march-19th-2020)
- [github.com](https://github.com/hashicorp/vault/commit/18485ee9d4352ac8e8396c580b5941ccf8e5b31a)

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Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2020-10661/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt