CVE-2020-10138
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 · uneditedAcronis Cyber Backup 12.5 and Cyber Protect 15 include an OpenSSL component that specifies an OPENSSLDIR variable as a subdirectory within C:\jenkins_agent\. Acronis Cyber Backup and Cyber Protect contain a privileged service that uses this OpenSSL component. Because unprivileged Windows users can create subdirectories off of the system root, a user can create the appropriate path to a specially-crafted openssl.cnf file to achieve arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM privileges.
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 confidenceAcronis Cyber Backup and Cyber Protect bundle an OpenSSL component with OPENSSLDIR set to C:\jenkins_agent\. Unprivileged Windows users can create subdirectories off the system root, allowing them to place a specially crafted openssl.cnf file in the expected path. When the privileged Acronis service loads this OpenSSL component, it reads the malicious config and executes arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 12.5< 15CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Identify installed Acronis productCheck Programs and Features or registry for Acronis Cyber Backup or Acronis Cyber Protect installation and note the exact version numberAffected if The product is installed and version is below 12.5 for Cyber Backup or below 15 for Cyber Protect
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Locate bundled OpenSSL componentSearch the Acronis installation directory for openssl.exe or related OpenSSL binaries, typically found in bin or library subfoldersAffected if Acronis bundles its own OpenSSL component in the installation folder
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Check OPENSSLDIR configurationRun openssl version -a or examine the OpenSSL binary to determine the OPENSSLDIR path it usesAffected if OPENSSLDIR is set to C:\jenkins_agent\ or any user-writable location on the system root
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Verify write access to OPENSSLDIR pathAttempt to create the C:\jenkins_agent\ directory as a non-privileged user, or check if the path already exists and is writableAffected if An unprivileged Windows user can create subdirectories under C:\ or already has write access to C:\jenkins_agent\
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Inspect for malicious openssl.cnfCheck if a file exists at C:\jenkins_agent\openssl.cnf and examine its contents for suspicious configuration directivesAffected if An openssl.cnf file exists in that location and contains malicious commands or includes external files
A user is affected if Acronis Cyber Backup below version 12.5 or Cyber Protect below version 15 is installed with OpenSSL using a user-writable OPENSSLDIR path (C:\jenkins_agent\) that allows unprivileged users to place a malicious config file.
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 data12.515
Replace or reconfigure the bundled OpenSSL component to use a secure, non-user-writable directory for OPENSSLDIR, and ensure the service cannot be tricked into loading attacker-controlled configuration files.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10138 — 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-2020-10138 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data