dbcve.org
GalaxyApplication · Gog

CVE-2020-15529

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-07-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
An issue was discovered in GOG Galaxy Client 2.0.17. Local escalation of privileges is possible when a user installs a game or performs a verify/repair operation. The issue exists because of weak file permissions and can be exploited by using opportunistic locks.

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 confidence

The GOG Galaxy Client 2.0.17 has weak file permissions on files and directories used during game installation or verify/repair operations. Local attackers can exploit this by using Windows opportunistic locks (oplocks) to manipulate file operations during these vulnerable periods, potentially gaining elevated privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch when available; until then, restrict local non-privileged user access to GOG Galaxy Client directories and monitor for suspicious file modifications during install/repair operations.

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
GalaxyApplication
Affected:= 2.0.17

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed GOG Galaxy Client version
    Open GOG Galaxy Client, click your username in the top right, select 'Settings', then scroll to the bottom to view the version number. Alternatively, check 'Add or Remove Programs' in Windows Control Panel for 'GOG Galaxy Client' entry.
    Affected if Version shown is exactly 2.0.17
  2. Verify file permissions on GOG Galaxy installation directory
    Right-click the GOG Galaxy installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\GOG Galaxy\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\), select Properties, go to the Security tab, and examine which users and groups have Full Control or Modify permissions.
    Affected if Non-privileged users or groups (such as Users or Everyone) have Full Control or Modify permissions on the GOG Galaxy directory
  3. Check permissions on game installation directories
    Right-click on a game install directory (commonly in C:\Program Files\GOG Galaxy Games\ or a custom library path), select Properties, then Security tab, and review which accounts have write or modify access.
    Affected if Non-privileged local users have Write or Full Control permissions on game library directories used during installation or repair
  4. Inspect permissions on repair/verify operation temporary directories
    Check permissions on %LOCALAPPDATA%\GOG.com\Galaxy\temp or similar temporary folders used during verify/repair operations. Right-click the folder, select Properties, then Security.
    Affected if Temporary directories used by GOG Galaxy during install/repair are writable by non-privileged users or accessible to the Users group
  5. Verify group membership and access controls
    Open Computer Management, expand Local Users and Groups, then Groups. Check the membership of the Users group and verify which standard user accounts exist on the system that could exploit the oplock vulnerability.
    Affected if Multiple non-privileged user accounts exist on the system with access to the GOG Galaxy installation directories

A user is affected if GOG Galaxy Client version 2.0.17 is installed AND non-privileged user accounts have write or modify access to GOG Galaxy installation or game library directories.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch when available; until then, restrict local non-privileged user access to GOG Galaxy Client directories and monitor for suspicious file modifications during install/repair operations.

Fix this in Galaxy Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-15529 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-15529 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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