# CVE-2020-8257: Privilege escalation in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows

> Improper privilege management in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows allows attackers to escalate privileges on the local system.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Dec 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gjfx-fqhh-mx8f

## What is CVE-2020-8257?

CVE-2020-8257 is a critical vulnerability in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows, published on 14 Dec 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper privilege management on services run by Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows, versions before and including 13.0-61.48 and 12.1-58.15, lead to privilege escalation attacks

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8257?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Citrix Gateway Plug-In.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8257?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8257 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8257 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8257 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows

- [CVE-2020-8258](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8258/): Privilege escalation in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2022-21827](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21827/): Privilege escalation in Citrix Gateway Windows Plugin (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8257 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8257 is a critical vulnerability in Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows, published on 14 Dec 2020. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8257 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Citrix Gateway Plug-in for Windows. 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-2020-8257/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8257/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8257
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8257
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8257

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8257/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.