CVE-2020-12613
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in BeyondTrust Privilege Management for Windows through 5.6. An attacker can spawn a process with multiple users as part of the security token (prior to Avecto elevation). When Avecto elevates the process, it removes the user who is launching the process, but not the second user. Therefore this second user still retains access and can give permission to the process back to the first user.
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 confidenceBeyondTrust Privilege Management (formerly Avecto) for Windows through version 5.6 has a flaw in its elevation process. When a process is spawned with multiple users in the security token, the privilege management software removes only the launching user during elevation but fails to remove additional users. This allows a second user to retain elevated access and potentially restore permissions to the original launching user, enabling privilege escalation.
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<= 5.6CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Verify BeyondTrust Privilege Management is installedCheck Windows Programs and Features or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'BeyondTrust' or 'Avecto'Affected if The software is listed as installed on the system
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Identify the installed version numberCheck the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\BeyondTrust\Privilege Management or look in the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\BeyondTrust\Privilege Management) for the version info in the executable propertiesAffected if The version displayed is 5.6 or any version lower than 5.6
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Confirm the elevation component is in useReview the policy configuration files (typically with .pmp extension) or the management console to see if elevation rules are defined for users or groupsAffected if Elevation policies are configured and actively applied to users or groups in the environment
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Check for multi-user session scenariosExamine Windows Event Logs (Security and System logs) for events involving elevation from sessions where multiple users may be present, or review any documentation of the deployment environment for multi-user RDP or terminal services usageAffected if The environment uses shared sessions or multiple users can initiate elevation requests from the same security context
The system is affected if BeyondTrust Privilege Management for Windows version 5.6 or lower is installed and elevation policies are actively used in an environment where multiple users may be present in the same security token.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade BeyondTrust Privilege Management for Windows to a version beyond 5.6 to receive the security patch addressing the improper security token handling during elevation.
Privilege Management for Windows 5.7 or latest available release
- 1. Verify current Privilege Management for Windows version by checking the About section in the management console or using the installed software inventory
- 2. Navigate to the BeyondTrust customer portal or download center at www.beyondtrust.com
- 3. Download the latest version of Privilege Management for Windows (version 5.7 or later, as the vulnerability affects versions through 5.6)
- 4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to verify compatibility with existing policies and configurations
- 5. Create a backup of current policy configurations and event log settings
- 6. Apply the upgrade following BeyondTrust's standard installation procedures
- 7. Verify that the elevation process now properly handles multi-user security tokens and removes all users from the token during elevation
- 8. Review event logs to confirm the fix is functioning correctly
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12613 — 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-2020-12613 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
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