CVE-2020-24682
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 · uneditedUnquoted Search Path or Element vulnerability in B&R Industrial Automation Automation Studio, B&R Industrial Automation NET/PVI allows Target Programs with Elevated Privileges.This issue affects Automation Studio: from 4.0 through 4.6, from 4.7.0 before 4.7.7 SP, from 4.8.0 before 4.8.6 SP, from 4.9.0 before 4.9.4 SP; NET/PVI: from 4.0 through 4.6, from 4.7.0 before 4.7.7, from 4.8.0 before 4.8.6, from 4.9.0 before 4.9.4.
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 confidenceUnquoted service path vulnerability in B&R Automation Studio and NET/PVI allows local attackers to achieve privilege escalation by placing malicious executables in unquoted path directories that get executed with elevated privileges when the service starts.
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< 4.7.7.74>= 4.8, < 4.8.6.30>= 4.9, < 4.9.4.92>= 4.0, < 4.7.7>= 4.8, < 4.8.6>= 4.9, < 4.9.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 installed B&R Automation Studio versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | DisplayName,DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed software and their versionsAffected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: < 4.7.7.74; >= 4.8, < 4.8.6.30; >= 4.9, < 4.9.4.92
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Identify installed NET/PVI versionCheck the installed version of NET/PVI component in the same manner as step 1, looking for B&R Automation Net/PVI or similar entryAffected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 4.0, < 4.7.7; >= 4.8, < 4.8.6; >= 4.9, < 4.9.4
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Find Windows services for B&R productsOpen Services console (services.msc) or run 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*BR*" -or $_.DisplayName -like "*Automation*"} | Select Name,DisplayName,Status' in PowerShell to list services related to B&R AutomationAffected if Any service with DisplayName containing 'Automation Studio', 'Automation Net', 'PVI', or 'BR' is found and is set to start automatically
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Check if service binary paths are unquotedRun 'Get-WmiObject win32_service | Select Name,PathName' in PowerShell to view service binary paths; examine each path for spaces without surrounding quotesAffected if A service path contains spaces but is not enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., C:\Program Files\BR\app.exe instead of "C:\Program Files\BR\app.exe")
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Inspect permissions on unquoted path directoriesFor each unquoted service path identified, right-click each directory in the path chain, go to Properties > Security, and review the permissions for Users and other non-admin groupsAffected if Non-privileged users have Write or Modify permissions on any directory in the service executable path
You are affected if B&R Automation Studio or NET/PVI with a vulnerable version is installed, a related Windows service exists with an unquoted executable path containing spaces, and non-privileged users can write to directories in that path.
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.
dbcve · scoped4.7.74.7.7.744.8.6
Upgrade to Automation Studio 4.7.7 SP, 4.8.6 SP, 4.9.4 SP or later (and corresponding NET/PVI versions); alternatively, ensure strict filesystem permissions on path directories and remove write access for non-privileged users.
Automation Studio: 4.7.7.74+, 4.8.6.30+, or 4.9.4.92+ | NET/PVI: 4.7.7+, 4.8.6+, or 4.9.4+
- 1. Identify the installed version of Automation Studio or NET/PVI on the affected system
- 2. For Automation Studio users: Upgrade to version 4.7.7.74 or higher, or 4.8.6.30 or higher, or 4.9.4.92 or higher
- 3. For NET/PVI users: Upgrade to version 4.7.7 or higher, or 4.8.6 or higher, or 4.9.4 or higher
- 4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the product version in the software
- 5. Ensure the software is running with least-privilege principles and not as an unnecessary administrator
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-24682 — 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-2020-24682 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data