# CVE-2020-8103: Link Resolution Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free (VA-8604)

> An unprivileged user can exploit improper symbolic link handling to restore quarantined files to privileged locations, leading to privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Jun 2020
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-r666-694p-fhv2

## What is CVE-2020-8103?

CVE-2020-8103 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free, published on 5 Jun 2020. 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

A vulnerability in the improper handling of symbolic links in Bitdefender Antivirus Free can allow an unprivileged user to substitute a quarantined file, and restore it to a privileged location. This issue affects Bitdefender Antivirus Free versions prior to 1.0.17.178.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8103?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Bitdefender Antivirus 2020.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8103?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8103 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8103 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8103 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- CVE-2020-8103 Link Resolution Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free (github_poc): https://github.com/RedyOpsResearchLabs/-CVE-2020-8103-Bitdefender-Antivirus-Free-EoP

## Other vulnerabilities in Bitdefender Antivirus Free

- [CVE-2020-8094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8094/): Untrusted Search Path Vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free 2020 (VA-8422) (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-15295](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-15295/): Other in n/a (high 7.8)
- [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-2020-8103 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8103 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Bitdefender Antivirus Free, published on 5 Jun 2020. 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-2020-8103 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Bitdefender Antivirus Free. 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-2020-8103/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8103/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8103
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8103
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8103

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8103/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.