CVE-2020-36160
9.3 · CRITICALOverview
CVE-2020-36160 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting veritas system_recovery. It was published on January 6, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.3 (CRITICAL).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.3, rated CRITICAL. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
Technical Description
An issue was discovered in Veritas System Recovery before 21.2. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library from \usr\local\ssl. This library attempts to load the from \usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file, which does not exist. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. A low privileged user can create a C:\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file to load a malicious OpenSSL engine, resulting in arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM when the service starts. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data and installed applications, etc. If the system is also an Active Directory domain controller, then this can affect the entire domain.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from veritas. Update system_recovery to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| veritas | system_recovery | >= 0, < 21.2 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2020-36160?
CVE-2020-36160 is a critical-severity vulnerability affecting veritas system_recovery. It was published on January 6, 2021 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.3 (CRITICAL).
How severe is CVE-2020-36160?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.3, rated CRITICAL. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2020-36160?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from veritas. Update system_recovery to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2020-36160?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2020-36160 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
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