CVE-2020-10610
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 · uneditedIn OSIsoft PI System multiple products and versions, a local attacker can modify a search path and plant a binary to exploit the affected PI System software to take control of the local computer at Windows system privilege level, resulting in unauthorized information disclosure, deletion, or modification.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in OSIsoft PI System where an attacker with local access can modify a search path (DLL search order or executable path) and plant a malicious binary. When the PI System software loads the planted binary, it executes with Windows SYSTEM privileges, giving the attacker full control of the local machine with the ability to disclose, delete, or modify information.
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<= 1.6.8.26<= 2.0.2.5<= 4.8.0.18<= 1.0.0.54<= 1.1.0.10<= 1.2.0.6<= 1.2.0.42<= 1.2.1.71<= 1.2.2.79<= 1.3.0.1<= 1.3.0.130<= 1.3.1.135<= 1.4.0.17<= 1.5.0.88<= 2.5.19.0<= 3.4.430.460<= 2.5.19.0<= 2.2.0.183<= 1.5.0.7CVSS 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 OSIsoft PI productsOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' to list installed software. Look for OSIsoft PI products such as PI API, PI Buffer Subsystem, PI Connector, PI Data Archive, PI Integrator, or PI Interface Configuration Utility.Affected if Any OSIsoft PI product is installed and its version falls within the affected ranges (PI API <= 1.6.8.26 or <= 2.0.2.5; PI Buffer Subsystem <= 4.8.0.18; PI Connector versions up to 1.5.0.88; PI Connector Relay <= 2.5.19.0; PI Data Archive <= 3.4.430.460; PI Data Collection Manager <= 2.5.19.0; PI In
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Check PI System directory permissionsNavigate to the PI System installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\PIPC or C:\Program Files (x86)\PIPC). Right-click each subdirectory, select Properties > Security, and review which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Alternatively, run 'icacls "C:\Program Files\PIPC" /t' to list permissions recursively.Affected if Non-administrative users or groups have Write or Modify permissions on PI System directories, allowing them to plant malicious binaries in executable search paths
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Identify PI service account privilegesOpen Services (services.msc), locate PI-related services (such as PI Buffer Subsystem, PI Connector, PI Data Archive), right-click each service, select Properties, and note the account listed under 'Log On'. Alternatively, run 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*PI*"} | Get-WmiObject Win32_Service | Select-Object Name, StartName' to list service accounts.Affected if PI services run under the LocalSystem account or another privileged account, and an attacker can modify search paths to hijack DLL or executable loading
Your environment is affected if any OSIsoft PI product is installed with a version within the affected ranges AND non-privileged users have write access to PI System directories where the software loads executables or DLLs.
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 dataApply vendor patches from OSIsoft for affected PI System products, restrict local file system permissions on PI System directories to prevent unauthorized modification, and follow least-privilege principles to limit local user access.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,880.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10610 — 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-2020-10610 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data