CVE-2020-15528
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 GOG Galaxy Client 2.0.17. Local escalation of privileges is possible when a user starts or uninstalls a game because of weak file permissions and missing file integrity checks.
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 confidenceThe GOG Galaxy Client 2.0.17 suffers from a local privilege escalation vulnerability where weak file permissions on game files and the absence of file integrity checks allow a low-privilege user to modify executables or related files. When a privileged user starts or uninstalls a game, the modified files execute with elevated privileges, enabling code execution in the security context of the higher-privileged process.
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= 2.0.17CVSS 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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Identify GOG Galaxy Client installationCheck the installed version of GOG Galaxy Client. On Windows, inspect the version information of the GalaxyClient.exe process or check the application's About/Version details in the Control Panel or application menu.Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.17 (or if the version cannot be determined but GOG Galaxy 2.0.x is present)
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Locate game installation directoriesIdentify directories where GOG games are installed. These are typically found in 'C:\Program Files\GOG Galaxy\Games' or custom directories specified during game installation, as well as the user's 'My Games' folder.Affected if Game installation directories exist on the system
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Inspect file permissions on game directoriesRight-click on game installation folders, go to Properties > Security tab, and review the permissions. Use 'icacls' command in Command Prompt (e.g., 'icacls "C:\Program Files\GOG Galaxy\Games\<gamefolder>"') to enumerate which users and groups have write access.Affected if Non-admin users or the 'Users' group have Write or Modify permissions on game executable directories
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Check for file integrity verificationExamine whether GOG Galaxy implements cryptographic checksums, digital signatures, or other integrity verification before executing game files. This may be observable in application logs, configuration files, or by attempting to modify a game executable and observing if the system detects the change upon next launch.Affected if No detectable file integrity checks are performed before executing game files
A system is affected if GOG Galaxy Client 2.0.17 is installed and game installation directories grant write access to low-privilege users without compensating file integrity verification.
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 dataRestrict file permissions on game installation directories to prevent write access by non-admin users, and implement cryptographic file integrity verification (e.g., checksums or digital signatures) before executing any game files.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15528 — 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-2020-15528 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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