# CVE-2020-27228: Privilege escalation in OpenClinic

> Incorrect default permissions in OpenClinic GA allow attackers to overwrite binaries and escalate privileges.

- **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:** 13 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-x79c-2qj9-pgc6

## What is CVE-2020-27228?

CVE-2020-27228 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenClinic, published on 13 Apr 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An incorrect default permissions vulnerability exists in the installation functionality of OpenClinic GA 5.173.3. Overwriting the binary can result in privilege escalation. An attacker can replace a file to exploit this vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-27228?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Openclinic Ga Project Openclinic Ga.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-27228?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-27228 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-27228 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-27228 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in OpenClinic

- [CVE-2020-27227](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27227/): Command injection in OpenClinic (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-14484](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14484/): Security feature bypass in OpenClinic GA (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-14485](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14485/): Auth bypass in OpenClinic GA (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-14494](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14494/): Auth bypass in OpenClinic GA (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-40275](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40275/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-27228 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-27228 is a high-severity vulnerability in OpenClinic, published on 13 Apr 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-2020-27228 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: OpenClinic. 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-2020-27228/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27228/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-27228
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27228
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-27228

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-27228/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.