How to Fix CVE-2020-13671: Unrestricted file upload in Drupal Core

WARNING: This vulnerability is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-01-18). Federal civilian agencies must remediate by 2022-07-18. Treat it as active exploitation, not theoretical.

What is CVE-2020-13671?

Drupal core does not properly sanitize certain filenames on uploaded files, which can lead to files being interpreted as the incorrect extension and served as the wrong MIME type or executed as PHP for certain hosting configurations. This issue affects: Drupal Drupal Core 9.0 versions prior to 9.0.8, 8.9 versions prior to 8.9.9, 8.8 versions prior to 8.8.11, and 7 versions prior to 7.74.

Am I affected?

Run the version check that matches your platform:

# Linux
dpkg -s drupal 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
rpm -q drupal 2>/dev/null
drupal --version 2>/dev/null

Compare what you see against the Affected row above (Drupal 9.0 versions prior to 9.0.8, 8.9 versions prior to 8.9.9, 8.8 versions prior to 8.8.11, 7 versions prior to 7.74). If your build sits inside that range, you are exposed and should patch.

How to fix CVE-2020-13671

The primary fix is to upgrade Drupal Core to the patched build. Use the commands for your platform below; the patched version listed in the vendor advisory is: See vendor advisory.

Ubuntu / Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade drupal
drupal --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s drupal | grep -i version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux

sudo dnf upgrade --security drupal -y
rpm -q drupal

SUSE / openSUSE

sudo zypper patch --category security
rpm -q drupal

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)

# Fix script for CVE-2020-13671 affecting Drupal
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2020-13671-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detecting installed version of Drupal"
    $pkg = winget list --id "Drupal" 2>$null
    Write-Host $pkg

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\Drupal-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\Drupal" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Applying upgrade to latest"
    winget upgrade --id "Drupal" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    # Fallback: Windows Update for OS-level fixes
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
    winget list --id "Drupal"
    Write-Host "Fix applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2020-13671 affecting Drupal
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2020-13671-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detecting installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s drupal 2>/dev/null | grep -i version || echo "drupal not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q drupal || echo "drupal not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backing up configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2020-13671-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/drupal /etc/drupal.d /etc/drupal.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Applying upgrade (target: latest)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y drupal
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --security -y drupal
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y drupal
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive patch --category security
fi

echo "[4/4] Verifying patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s drupal 2>/dev/null | grep -i version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q drupal
fi
echo "Done. Restart any running daemons that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

If you cannot apply the patched version today, restrict exposure with one of the following runnable controls. None replace the patch.

Network restriction (Linux, nftables)

# Block inbound traffic to the affected service from untrusted networks
sudo nft add table inet filter
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }'
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {443, 80} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Service-level fallback

# If the affected feature is optional, stop the service until the patch is applied
sudo systemctl stop drupal
sudo systemctl disable drupal

How to verify the fix worked

# Linux
drupal --version 2>/dev/null || dpkg -s drupal | grep -i version
rpm -q drupal 2>/dev/null || true

# Windows
winget list | findstr /I "drupal"
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above the patched build documented in the advisory. Restart any services that loaded the old library (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, restart the Windows service or reboot when prompted). For network appliances, run show version on the device and confirm the build matches the patched release.

Frequently asked questions

Related fixes

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

• How to Fix CVE-2026-8491: Denial of Service in Node View Permissions — Denial of Service in Node View Permissions
• How to Fix CVE-2026-3213: Critical Vulnerability in Anti-Spam by CleanTalk — Critical Vulnerability in Anti-Spam by CleanTalk
• How to Fix CVE-2026-0749: Critical Vulnerability in Drupal , Critical Vulnerability in Drupal
• How to Fix CVE-2026-3528: Critical Vulnerability in Calculation Fields , Critical Vulnerability in Calculation Fields
• How to Fix CVE-2019-6340: Insecure Deserialization in Drupal Core , Insecure Deserialization in Drupal Core

Is CVE-2020-13671 actually being exploited?

According to the data sources above, yes, CISA has it listed as actively exploited. Either way, the fix is the same: apply the vendor patch.

Do I need to reboot after patching?

For OS or kernel updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough. Any process that loaded the old shared library keeps using it until restarted, so when in doubt, reboot.

What is the CVSS score?

8.8 (high). Refer to the vendor advisory for the exact vector string.

Where is the official advisory?

See the References section at the bottom of this page; the vendor's URL is the authoritative source for affected builds and patched versions.

References

• Official vendor advisory: https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/KWM4CTMEGAC4I2CHYNJVSROY4CVXVEUT/
• NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13671
• CISA KEV catalog entry: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
• https://www.drupal.org/sa-core-2020-012
• https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/5KSFM672XW3X6BR7TVKRD63SLZGKK437/
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-13671

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*