VulnerabilityPublished 29 Jan 2021Updated 30 May 2025

CVE-2020-28405: An Improper Authorization Vulnerability Exists

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 76% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:N/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:L/S:U/UI:N

Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Vector: Network
Availability: High
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Privileges Required: Low
Scope: Unchanged
User Interaction: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 29 Jan 2021
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
n/a n/a	Affected =2019.2.0.6	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

Immediate mitigation should include restricting access to the Star Practice Management Web application to trusted users only, ideally through network segmentation and strict access controls.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user accounts to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Conduct a thorough audit of user privileges and remove or limit unnecessary user accounts, especially those with elevated privileges.
Monitor application logs for unusual privilege modification activities or administrative account removals.
6. Educate administrators and users about the risks and signs of privilege escalation attacks. 7. Establish an incident response plan specifically addressing potential exploitation of this vulnerability, including backup and recovery procedures to restore administrative access if locked out.

Description

An improper authorization vulnerability exists in Star Practice Management Web version 2019.2.0.6, allowing an unauthorized user to change the privileges of any user of the application. This can be used to grant himself the administrative role or remove all administrative accounts of the application.

Impact

For European organizations, particularly those in the healthcare sector using Star Practice Management Web 2019.2.0.6, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. Unauthorized privilege escalation can lead to full administrative control, allowing attackers to manipulate sensitive patient data, disrupt healthcare operations, or remove legitimate administrative users to maintain persistence. This can result in severe confidentiality breaches of personal health information (PHI), violating GDPR regulations and leading to substantial legal and financial penalties. Additionally, integrity and availability of critical healthcare management systems could be compromised, potentially impacting patient care and operational continuity. The ability to remove all administrative accounts could lock out legitimate administrators, complicating incident response and recovery efforts. Given the critical nature of healthcare data and the regulatory environment in Europe, exploitation of this vulnerability could have far-reaching consequences for affected organizations.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 8 Jul 2025, 15:12 UTC

Technical details

References

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