# CVE-2020-13549: Privilege escalation in Sytech

> Local attackers can overwrite service executables due to insecure file permissions, leading to arbitrary code execution and privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xx44-m54v-4pwc

## What is CVE-2020-13549?

CVE-2020-13549 is a high-severity vulnerability in Sytech, published on 19 Feb 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An exploitable local privilege elevation vulnerability exists in the file system permissions of Sytech XL Reporter v14.0.1 install directory. Depending on the vector chosen, an attacker can overwrite service executables and execute arbitrary code with privileges of user set to run the service or replace other files within the installation folder, which would allow for local privilege escalation.

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-13549?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Sytech Xlreporter.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-13549?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-13549 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-13549 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-13549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-13549 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-13549 is a high-severity vulnerability in Sytech, published on 19 Feb 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-13549 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Sytech. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13549/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13549/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-13549
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-13549
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-13549

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13549/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.