Is CVE-2020-27780 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2020-27780 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2020-27780 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2020-27780 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-27780?

CVE-2020-27780 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

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CRITICAL

CVE-2020-27780

CWE-287Published: December 18, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

A flaw was found in Linux-Pam in versions prior to 1.5.1 in the way it handle empty passwords for non-existing users. When the user doesn't exist PAM try to authenticate with root and in the case of an empty password it successfully authenticate.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-27780 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.

From a weakness classification perspective (CWE-287): Authentication bypass vulnerabilities allow attackers to access protected resources without valid credentials.