# CVE-2020-20627: GiveWP - Authentication Bypass

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2020-20627 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2020-20627

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 5.3
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** GiveWP
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-306 (Missing Authentication for Critical Function)
- **Tags:** wordpress

## Description

The includes/gateways/stripe/includes/admin/admin-actions.php in GiveWP plugin through 2.5.9 for WordPress allows unauthenticated settings change.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2020-20627](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2020-20627) is a vulnerability in the GiveWP plugin for WordPress (up to version 2.5.9) that allows unauthenticated attackers to change plugin settings via the Stripe admin actions script. This flaw could be exploited to alter payment configurations or disrupt donation workflows, potentially impacting the integrity of WordPress sites using GiveWP.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 7th of January 2026.

Insights from the CrowdSec network reveal that the attackers trying to exploit CVE-2020-20627 are composed of a fairly even mix of opportunistic and targeted actors. Some attackers employ preliminary reconnaissance, while others use indiscriminate scanning.
Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2020-20627 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2020-20627 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Attackers exploit unauthenticated GET requests to `/wp-admin/admin-post.php` with the `page=give-settings` parameter and various `stripe_*` parameters to modify GiveWP plugin settings without authorization. This allows unauthorized changes to payment configuration on vulnerable WordPress sites.

## Timeline

- 2020-08-31: CVE Published. CVE-2020-20627 is published to NVD.
- 2026-01-07: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2020-20627 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2026-01-14: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2020-20627 for the first time.

## References

- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2020/CVE-2020-20627.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2020-20627) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2020-20627. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.