CVE-2020-5741: Plex Media Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on , 1,036 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 72.9%
EPSS score, percentile 99.5 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.2 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline . Apply updates per vendor instructions.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- Versions prior to 1.19.3
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: .
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- https://forums.plex.tv/t/security-regarding-cve-2020-5741/586819
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5741
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | Versions prior to 1.19.3 |
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
About this vulnerability
Plex Media Server contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows an attacker with access to the server administrator's Plex account to upload a malicious file via the Camera Upload feature and have the media server execute it.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of .
- CISA added CVE-2020-5741 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 10 Mar 2023.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 31 Mar 2023.
- The CVE record was published on 8 May 2020, 1,036 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 72.9% (percentile 99.5), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of . About the data.
Description
Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Plex Media Server on Windows allows a remote, authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary Python code.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| Added to CISA KEV | |
| CISA due date for the required action | |
| CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited Plex vulnerabilities
- CVE-2026-96652: Plex Media Server Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-96654: Plex Media Server Improper Neutralization of Encoded URI Schemes in a Web Page Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-96655: Plex Media Server Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) Vulnerability
- CVE-2026-96656: Plex Media Server External Control of File Name or Path Vulnerability