CVE-2020-16207
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 · uneditedAdvantech WebAccess HMI Designer, Versions 2.1.9.31 and prior. Multiple heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities may be exploited by opening specially crafted project files that may overflow the heap, which may allow remote code execution, disclosure/modification of information, or cause the application to crash.
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 confidenceAdvantech WebAccess HMI Designer contains heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities in its project file parsing routines. Opening specially crafted .apj or related project files causes heap overflow, potentially enabling remote code execution or application crash.
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<= 2.1.9.31CVSS 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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Confirm WebAccess HMI Designer is installedCheck program files for Advantech WebAccess HMI Designer installation directory, or look for the application in installed programs listAffected if The application is present on the system
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Identify installed versionRight-click the executable (typically named something like HMIDesigner.exe or check the application properties via file properties) and view version information, or use the program's About/Help menu to determine the version numberAffected if Version number is 2.1.9.31 or lower
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Locate project file handling componentCheck for the presence of .apj file association or project file parsing modules within the installation directoryAffected if The .apj file parsing module exists and is reachable by the application
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Verify project file handling is accessibleAttempt to identify if the application can open .apj files by checking file associations or recent project filesAffected if The application is configured to handle .apj project files
If WebAccess HMI Designer version 2.1.9.31 or lower is installed and can process .apj project files, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataUpdate to a patched version of WebAccess HMI Designer newer than 2.1.9.31. Avoid opening project files from untrusted sources until patched.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-16207 — 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-2020-16207 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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