CVE-2016-20024
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedZKTeco ZKTime.Net 3.0.1.6 contains an insecure file permissions vulnerability that allows unprivileged users to escalate privileges by modifying executable files. Attackers can exploit world-writable permissions on the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory and its contents to replace executable files with malicious binaries for privilege escalation.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceZKTeco ZKTime.Net 3.0.1.6 has insecure file permissions on the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory and its contents, allowing world-writable access. Unprivileged local users can replace executable files within this directory with malicious binaries to achieve privilege escalation to administrator or system level.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify ZKTeco ZKTime.Net installation and versionSearch the system for ZKTime.Net installation and confirm the version is 3.0.1.6. Check registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\ZKTeco or look for the application in Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The installed version matches 3.0.1.6 exactly.
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Locate the ZKTimeNet3.0 directorySearch for a directory named ZKTimeNet3.0 on the system, typically found within the ZKTeco ZKTime.Net installation path (commonly under Program Files or Program Files (x86)).Affected if The ZKTimeNet3.0 directory exists on the system.
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Check directory permissions for world-writable accessInspect the ACLs on the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory using icacls or a file permission auditing tool. Look for entries granting Write permissions to the Everyone group or the Users group.Affected if The directory permissions allow world-writable or group-writable access (Write permission granted to Everyone, Users, or other non-admin principals).
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Verify executable file permissions within the directoryExamine individual .exe or .dll files inside the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory to confirm they are also world-writable. Use icacls <filename> to view specific file ACLs.Affected if Executable files within the directory are replaceable by unprivileged users due to overly permissive ACLs.
A user is affected if ZKTime.Net version 3.0.1.6 is installed and the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory and its contents have world-writable or group-writable permissions allowing unprivileged access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataRestrict file permissions on the ZKTimeNet3.0 directory and contents by removing world-writable permissions and assigning appropriate ACLs limited to administrative users and the service account.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-20024 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-20024 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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