CVE-2020-10616
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 · uneditedOpto 22 SoftPAC Project Version 9.6 and prior. SoftPAC does not specify the path of multiple imported .dll files. Therefore, an attacker can replace them and execute code whenever the service starts.
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 confidenceSoftPAC does not specify full paths when importing multiple .dll files, creating a DLL hijacking vulnerability. An attacker with write access to the system can place malicious DLLs in locations where SoftPAC loads them from, achieving code execution whenever the service starts.
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<= 9.6CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 SoftPAC installation and versionLocate SoftPAC installation directory and check for version information in file properties, application metadata, or project files. Common locations include Program Files or application-specific directories.Affected if Installed version is 9.6 or earlier (the affected range is <= 9.6)
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Verify vulnerable DLL loading behaviorInspect SoftPAC configuration files or executable to determine if it uses relative or unspecified paths when loading DLLs. Monitor or analyze how the application imports external libraries.Affected if SoftPAC loads DLLs without specifying full absolute paths, relying on PATH or working directory resolution
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Check file permissions on application directoryReview access control lists (ACLs) on the SoftPAC installation directory and subdirectories. Use operating system tools to list permissions and identify any accounts with write access beyond administrators.Affected if Non-administrator or untrusted user accounts have write permissions to directories from which SoftPAC loads DLLs
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Identify writable directories in DLL search pathExamine the DLL search path used by SoftPAC. Check all directories in the PATH environment variable, working directory, and system directories that the application may access for writable locations.Affected if Any directory in the DLL search path is writable by untrusted users, allowing placement of malicious DLLs
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Scan for unexpected DLLs in application directoriesList all DLL files present in the SoftPAC installation directory and related paths. Compare against expected application DLLs or check for newly created/modified DLLs.Affected if Unexpected or untrusted DLL files exist in directories from which SoftPAC loads libraries
A system is affected if SoftPAC version is 9.6 or earlier AND untrusted users have write access to any directory in SoftPAC's DLL search path.
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 dataUpdate to SoftPAC version 9.7 or later which should address the DLL loading vulnerability. If patching is not immediately feasible, implement strict file permissions on the application directory and ensure only trusted users have write access to prevent DLL replacement.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10616 — 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-2020-10616 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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