CVE-2020-10940
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 · uneditedLocal Privilege Escalation can occur in PHOENIX CONTACT PORTICO SERVER through 3.0.7 when installed to run as a service.
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 · moderate confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in PHOENIX CONTACT PORTICO SERVER (versions through 3.0.7) when running as a Windows service. The vulnerability allows a local authenticated attacker to gain elevated privileges, likely due to improper service configuration or insecure service executable permissions that can be exploited to execute arbitrary code with elevated 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<= 3.0.7<= 3.0.7<= 3.0.7CVSS 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 Portico Server versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-WmiObject Win32_Product | Select-Object Name, Version' in PowerShell to list installed software and locate 'Phoenix Contact Portico Server' with its version number.Affected if Version is 3.0.7 or lower (any version through 3.0.7).
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Confirm Portico Server is running as a Windows serviceOpen Services console (services.msc) or run 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Portico*"}' in PowerShell to check if a Portico service exists and is running.Affected if A Portico Server Windows service is installed and running.
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Check service executable file permissionsLocate the service executable (typically in C:\Program Files\Phoenix Contact\Portico Server\ or similar), right-click > Properties > Security tab. Verify that standard users cannot modify or write to the executable file.Affected if Non-admin users have Write or Full Control permissions on the service executable, allowing them to replace it with malicious code.
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Verify service account privilegesIn Services console, double-click the Portico service > Log On tab. Check whether the service runs under LocalSystem, a domain account, or a local user account with elevated privileges.Affected if Service runs under LocalSystem or an account with administrative privileges, allowing executed code to run with elevated rights.
You are affected if Portico Server version 3.0.7 or lower is installed as a Windows service, and the service executable has weak permissions or runs with elevated privileges that a local authenticated attacker could exploit.
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 patch (upgrade to version beyond 3.0.7), or if no patch available, implement compensating controls such as restricting service account permissions, limiting local access, and applying defense-in-depth measures.
- Consultation4.0 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 $3,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-10940 — 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-2020-10940 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