# CVE-2020-36162: Path traversal in n/a

> A low-privileged user can exploit a path traversal in the OpenSSL configuration loading to execute arbitrary code and gain administrator access.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:L/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:N/S:C/UI:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **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-8wv9-vqfr-6hg4

## What is CVE-2020-36162?

CVE-2020-36162 is a critical path traversal 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 CloudPoint before 8.3.0.1+hotfix. The CloudPoint Windows Agent leverages OpenSSL. This OpenSSL library attempts to load the \usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file, which does not exist. By default, on Windows systems users can create directories under <drive>:\. A low privileged user can create a <drive>:\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file to load a malicious OpenSSL engine, which may result in arbitrary code execution. This would give 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-2020-36162?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Veritas Cloudpoint, Veritas Netbackup Cloudpoint.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-36162?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-36162 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-36162 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36162 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36162 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36162 is a critical path traversal 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-2020-36162 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-2020-36162/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36162/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36162
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36162
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36162

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36162/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.