# CVE-2020-5793: Path traversal in Tenable Nessus for Windows and Tenable Nessus Agent for Windows

> An authenticated local attacker can copy malicious files to system directories via path traversal, potentially leading to privilege escalation or code execution.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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:** 5 Nov 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-ghm7-vx3w-9hw3

## What is CVE-2020-5793?

CVE-2020-5793 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Tenable Nessus, published on 5 Nov 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability in Nessus versions 8.9.0 through 8.12.0 for Windows & Nessus Agent 8.0.0 and 8.1.0 for Windows could allow an authenticated local attacker to copy user-supplied files to a specially constructed path in a specifically named user directory. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by creating a malicious file and copying the file to a system directory. The attacker needs valid credentials on the Windows system to exploit this vulnerability.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5793?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Tenable Nessus, Tenable Nessus Agent.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-5793?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-5793 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-5793 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5793 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Tenable Nessus

- [CVE-2022-4313](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4313/): Command injection in Tenable.io, Tenable.sc and Nessus (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-0524](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0524/): Privilege escalation in Tenable.io, Tenable.sc, Nessus (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2023-0101](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0101/): Privilege escalation in Nessus (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-32973](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32973/): Privilege escalation in Nessus (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2025-36630](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-36630/): Local Privilege Escalation (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5793 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-5793 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Tenable Nessus, published on 5 Nov 2020. 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-2020-5793 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Tenable Nessus. 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-2020-5793/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5793/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-5793
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-5793
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-5793

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5793/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.