# CVE-2020-28910: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Attackers can escalate privileges by exploiting insecure temporary directory permissions and symlink mishandling in Nagios XI.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 24 May 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j8r2-c848-hx5v

## What is CVE-2020-28910?

CVE-2020-28910 is a critical vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 24 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Creation of a Temporary Directory with Insecure Permissions in Nagios XI 5.7.5 and earlier allows for Privilege Escalation via creation of symlinks, which are mishandled in getprofile.sh.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-28910?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Nagios Nagios Xi.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-28910?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-28910 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-28910 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28910 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Nagios Nagios Xi

- [CVE-2021-25296](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25296/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25297/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25298/): Nagios XI OS Command Injection (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2019-15949](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15949/): Nagios XI Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-24401](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-24401/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-28910 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-28910 is a critical vulnerability in Nagios Nagios Xi, published on 24 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-28910 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Nagios Nagios Xi. 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-2020-28910/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28910/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-28910
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28910
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-28910

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-28910/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.