# CVE-2020-9452: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Unprivileged users can escalate to SYSTEM privileges via hardlink attacks on the anti-ransomware quarantine feature in Acronis True Image.

- **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:** 25 May 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hgv8-rr8f-4q2r

## What is CVE-2020-9452?

CVE-2020-9452 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 25 May 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in Acronis True Image 2020 24.5.22510. anti_ransomware_service.exe includes functionality to quarantine files by copying a suspected ransomware file from one directory to another using SYSTEM privileges. Because unprivileged users have write permissions in the quarantine folder, it is possible to control this privileged write with a hardlink. This means that an unprivileged user can write/overwrite arbitrary files in arbitrary folders. Escalating privileges to SYSTEM is trivial with arbitrary writes. While the quarantine feature is not enabled by default, it can be forced to copy the file to the quarantine by communicating with anti_ransomware_service.exe through its REST API.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-9452?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Acronis True Image 2020.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-9452?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-9452 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-9452 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-9452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2020-9450](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9450/): Missing authorization in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-9451](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9451/): Denial of service in n/a (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-9452 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-9452 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 25 May 2021. 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-2020-9452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. 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-2020-9452/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9452/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-9452
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-9452
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-9452

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-9452/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.