CVE-2020-13771
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 · uneditedVarious components in Ivanti Endpoint Manager through 2020.1.1 rely on Windows search order when loading a (nonexistent) library file, allowing (under certain conditions) one to gain code execution (and elevation of privileges to the level of privilege held by the vulnerable component such as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM) via DLL hijacking. This affects ldiscn32.exe, IpmiRedirectionService.exe, LDAPWhoAmI.exe, and ldprofile.exe.
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 confidenceMultiple executables in Ivanti Endpoint Manager (ldiscn32.exe, IpmiRedirectionService.exe, LDAPWhoAmI.exe, ldprofile.exe) rely on Windows DLL search order to load a nonexistent library file, allowing DLL hijacking. An attacker can place a malicious DLL in a search path location to achieve code execution with NT AUTHORITY\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<= 2020.1.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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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Verify Ivanti Endpoint Manager installation and versionLocate the Ivanti Endpoint Manager installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\LANDesk\ or C:\Program Files\Ivanti\) and check the version information in the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\LANDesk\ManagementSuite\Version or HKLM\SOFTWARE\Ivanti\EndpointManager\, or locate version.txt or a similar version file within the installation folder.Affected if The installed version is 2020.1.1 or lower.
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Confirm presence of vulnerable executablesSearch for the executables ldiscn32.exe, IpmiRedirectionService.exe, LDAPWhoAmI.exe, and ldprofile.exe within the Ivanti Endpoint Manager installation directory and subdirectories.Affected if One or more of these executables exist in the installation folder.
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Check application directory permissionsRight-click the Ivanti Endpoint Manager installation directory, select Properties, then Security. Verify which users and groups have Write or Modify permissions on the folder.Affected if Non-admin users or groups have Write or Modify permissions on the application directory, allowing placement of malicious DLLs.
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Verify DLL search path susceptibilityReview the Windows system environment and application configuration to confirm the DLL search order (UseDllDirectory, LOAD_WITH_ALTERED_SEARCH_PATH) and whether the application directory is searched before system directories.Affected if The application loads DLLs from the application directory without explicit path specification, enabling DLL hijacking.
The environment is affected if Ivanti Endpoint Manager version 2020.1.1 or lower is installed, the vulnerable executables are present, and the application directory or DLL search paths allow write access for non-privileged users to place malicious 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 the vendor patch to update Ivanti Endpoint Manager to a version beyond 2020.1.1. As a compensating control, restrict write permissions on directories in the Windows DLL search path (particularly the application directory) to prevent unauthorized DLL placement.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13771 — 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-2020-13771 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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