# CVE-2020-36161: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A low-privileged user can exploit directory permissions to load a malicious OpenSSL engine, achieving SYSTEM-level code execution and full administrative control.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.1/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:** 6 Jan 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qmv6-2p8v-6766

## What is CVE-2020-36161?

CVE-2020-36161 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Jan 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Veritas APTARE 10.4 before 10.4P9 and 10.5 before 10.5P3. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. A low privileged user can create a directory at the configuration file locations. When the Windows system restarts, a malicious OpenSSL engine could exploit arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data, access all installed applications, etc.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36161?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Veritas Aptare It Analytics.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-36161?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-36161 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-36161 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2023-28818](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28818/): Supply chain in n/a (medium 5.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36161 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36161 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 6 Jan 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-2020-36161 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2020-36161/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36161/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36161
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36161
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36161

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36161/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.