Pandora FMS - Authentication Bypass (CVE-2020-8497)

CVE-2020-8497 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in Artica Pandora FMS through version 7.42, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access chat history files containing sensitive information such as user names, user IDs, private messages, and timestamps. This exposure could lead to privacy breaches and facilitate further social engineering attacks.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 8th of April 2026.

CrowdSec network observations suggest that most exploitation of CVE-2020-8497 involves focused reconnaissance to identify viable targets. Attackers typically tailor their campaigns based on system exposure and configuration. It is unlikely that a given attack is accidental. Telemetry from the CrowdSec network also shows that exploitation activity for CVE-2020-8497 remains steady week-over-week. Attack volumes are consistent with long-term trends, indicating sustained interest from threat actors. CVE-2020-8497 continues to be an active part of the threat landscape and will likely remain this way for the forseeable future.

Attackers exploit this vulnerability by sending requests to URLs containing /pandora_console/attachment/pandora_chat.log.json.txt to access sensitive chat history data stored in JSON format. This endpoint exposes user names, user IDs, private messages, and timestamps without authentication.