CVE-2020-13793
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 · uneditedUnsafe storage of AD credentials in Ivanti DSM netinst 5.1 due to a static, hard-coded encryption key.
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 confidenceIvanti DSM netinst 5.1 stores Active Directory credentials using a static, hard-coded encryption key embedded in the application. This allows any attacker who obtains the key (through code review, binary analysis, or memory inspection) to decrypt all stored AD credentials, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the directory and downstream systems.
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= 5.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 Ivanti DSM netinst versionCheck the installed version of Ivanti DSM netinst by examining the application binaries, installation directory, or running 'netinst --version' or checking the product information panel if a GUI is availableAffected if Version is exactly 5.1 (note: only version 5.1 is listed as affected)
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Confirm Active Directory integration is configuredVerify if the Ivanti DSM netinst instance is configured to store or manage Active Directory credentials. Check the application configuration files or management console for AD connector settings, credential storage, or directory integration modulesAffected if AD integration is enabled and credentials are stored by the application
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Locate encryption-related binaries or librariesExamine the application installation directory for DLL, EXE, or JAR files related to encryption, credential storage, or security modules. Common paths may include the 'bin', 'lib', or 'security' subdirectories within the Ivanti installation folderAffected if Encryption binaries or libraries exist in the installation directory (indicates credential encryption is in use)
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Search for hard-coded encryption keys in application filesUse strings, grep, or a hex editor to search application binaries for cryptographic key patterns, long hexadecimal strings, or known encryption-related keywords. Look for static key patterns in memory dumps or configuration export filesAffected if A static, hard-coded encryption key is found embedded in the application binaries or configuration
You are affected if you are running Ivanti DSM netinst version 5.1 with Active Directory integration enabled and the application contains a hard-coded encryption key used for credential storage.
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 dataReplace the hard-coded encryption key with a properly managed key using a key management solution (HSM, key vault, or secure configuration), rotate all potentially exposed AD credentials, and implement proper key generation and storage practices.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13793 — 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-2020-13793 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