# CVE-2020-8094: Untrusted Search Path Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020 (VA-8422)

> A low-privilege attacker can execute code as SYSTEM via a crafted DLL due to an untrusted search path in Bitdefender Antivirus Free.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA: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:** 15 Jan 2025
- **Updated:** 15 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-w6f7-5v79-v5cg

## What is CVE-2020-8094?

CVE-2020-8094 is a high-severity vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020, published on 15 Jan 2025. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An untrusted search path vulnerability in testinitsigs.exe as used in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020 allows a low-privilege attacker to execute code as SYSTEM via a specially crafted DLL file.

Weakness: CWE-426 (Untrusted Search Path)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8094?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Bitdefender Antivirus 2020.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8094?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8094 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8094 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8094 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020

- [CVE-2019-15295](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15295/): Other in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-8103](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8103/): Link Resolution Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free (VA-8604) (high 7.2)
- [CVE-2020-8099](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8099/): Link Resolution Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free (VA-8387) (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8094 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8094 is a high-severity vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020, published on 15 Jan 2025. 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-2020-8094 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020. 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-2020-8094/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8094/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8094
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8094
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8094

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8094/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.