# CVE-2020-36938: WinAVR Version 20100110 - Insecure Folder Permissions

> Insecure folder permissions in WinAVR allow authenticated users to modify critical executables, potentially leading to privilege escalation or code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 27 Jan 2026
- **Updated:** 27 Jan 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q6mp-f7c6-gwcv

## What is CVE-2020-36938?

CVE-2020-36938 is a high-severity vulnerability in WinAVR, published on 27 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

WinAVR version 20100110 contains an insecure permissions vulnerability that allows authenticated users to modify system files and executables. Attackers can leverage the overly permissive access controls to potentially modify critical DLLs and executable files in the WinAVR installation directory.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-36938?


## How do I fix CVE-2020-36938?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-36938 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-36938 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-36938 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-36938 is a high-severity vulnerability in WinAVR, published on 27 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-36938 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: WinAVR. 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-2020-36938/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36938/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-36938
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-36938
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-36938

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-36938/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.