# CVE-2020-15075: Path traversal in OpenVPN Connect

> An attacker can corrupt system critical files via symlink attacks in /tmp during OpenVPN Connect installation on macOS.

- **Severity:** High 7.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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:** 30 Mar 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3j95-64vv-272j

## What is CVE-2020-15075?

CVE-2020-15075 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in OpenVPN Connect, published on 30 Mar 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenVPN Connect installer for macOS version 3.2.6 and older may corrupt system critical files it should not have access via symlinks in /tmp.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access), CWE-61 (UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-15075?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Openvpn Connect.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-15075?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-15075 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-15075 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-15075 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenVPN Connect

- [CVE-2026-9560](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-9560/): Privilege escalation in OpenVPN Connect (critical 9.4)
- [CVE-2023-7245](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-7245/): Code injection in OpenVPN Connect (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-7224](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-7224/): Code injection in OpenVPN Connect (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-3613](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3613/): Code injection in OpenVPN Connect (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-9442](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9442/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-15075 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-15075 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in OpenVPN Connect, published on 30 Mar 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-2020-15075 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OpenVPN Connect. 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-2020-15075/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15075/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15075
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15075
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-15075

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-15075/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.