CVE-2020-24160
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 · uneditedShenzhen Tencent TIM Windows client 3.0.0.21315 has a DLL hijacking vulnerability, which can be exploited by attackers to execute malicious code.
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 TIM Windows client version 3.0.0.21315 is vulnerable to DLL hijacking, allowing attackers to place malicious DLL files in locations where the application loads DLLs without secure path specification. When the application runs, it may load and execute the attacker's DLL instead of the legitimate one.
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= 3.0.0.21315CVSS 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 installed TIM versionOpen Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features, or use Control Panel > Programs and Features. Locate Tencent TIM in the list and record the version number shown in the Version column. Alternatively, navigate to the TIM installation directory, right-click on the TIM executable (tim.exe), select Properties, and view the File Version on the Details tab.Affected if The displayed version is exactly 3.0.0.21315
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Confirm TIM installation directoryIn the Apps & features or Programs and Features window, click on Tencent TIM and select Uninstall or Uninstall/Change. This typically opens an installer window showing the install location, or you can right-click the tim.exe file and select Open file location to find the installation path.Affected if TIM version 3.0.0.21315 is installed in any directory
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Verify application is vulnerableThis specific version (3.0.0.21315) contains the DLL hijacking vulnerability. The vulnerability exists because the application loads DLLs without secure path specification, meaning it searches the application directory and other locations for DLLs in an unsafe order. No additional configuration check is needed beyond confirming the version.Affected if The installed version is confirmed as 3.0.0.21315
If Tencent TIM version 3.0.0.21315 is installed on the system, the environment is affected by this DLL hijacking 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 dataUpgrade TIM to a patched version that implements secure DLL loading (e.g., explicit absolute paths, safe DLL search mode via manifest, or delayed loading). If upgrade is not immediately possible, remove write access to directories in the application's DLL search path to prevent DLL planting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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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-2020-24160 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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