How severe is CVE-2020-35590?

CVE-2020-35590 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2020-35590 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (90th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2020-35590?

CVE-2020-35590 affects Limitloginattempts Limit Login Attempts Reloaded. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2020-35590?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2020-35590 published?

CVE-2020-35590 was published on 2020-12-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2020-35590

CVE-2020-35590 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Limitloginattempts Limit Login Attempts Reloaded with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-307.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 5.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 4% (90th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-307
Affected product: Limitloginattempts Limit Login Attempts Reloaded
Published: 2020-12-21
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

LimitLoginAttempts.php in the limit-login-attempts-reloaded plugin before 2.17.4 for WordPress allows a bypass of (per IP address) rate limits because the X-Forwarded-For header can be forged. When the plugin is configured to accept an arbitrary header for the client source IP address, a malicious user is not limited to perform a brute force attack, because the client IP header accepts any arbitrary string. When randomizing the header input, the login count does not ever reach the maximum allowed retries.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-35590?: LimitLoginAttempts.php in the limit-login-attempts-reloaded plugin before 2.17.4 for WordPress allows a bypass of (per IP address) rate limits because the X-Forwarded-For header can be forged. When the plugin is configured to accept an arbitrary header for the client source IP address, a malicious user is not limited to perform a brute force attack, because the client IP header accepts any arbitrary string. When randomizing the header input, the login count does not ever reach the maximum allowed retries.
How severe is CVE-2020-35590?: CVE-2020-35590 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2020-35590 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 4% (90th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2020-35590?: CVE-2020-35590 affects Limitloginattempts Limit Login Attempts Reloaded. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2020-35590?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2020-35590 published?: CVE-2020-35590 was published on 2020-12-21 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:limitloginattempts:limit_login_attempts_reloaded:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*

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