CVE-2020-27696
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 · uneditedTrend Micro Security 2020 (Consumer) contains a vulnerability in the installer package that could be exploited by placing a specific Windows system directory which can lead to obtaining administrative privileges during the installation of the product.
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 confidenceTrend Micro Security 2020 consumer product installer contains a directory planting vulnerability where an attacker can place a malicious file in a specific Windows system directory used by the installer, resulting in arbitrary code execution with administrative privileges during the installation 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<= 16.0<= 16.0<= 16.0<= 16.0CVSS 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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Check for installed Trend Micro 2020 consumer productsOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features (or use Control Panel > Programs and Features) and search for Trend Micro products, specifically looking for Antivirus+ Security 2020, Internet Security 2020, Maximum Security 2020, or Premium Security 2020Affected if Any of these four Trend Micro 2020 products appear in the installed programs list
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Verify installed product versionRight-click on the installed Trend Micro product in Programs and Features, select Properties, and check the Version field, or right-click the main Trend Micro executable in Program Files and view Properties > DetailsAffected if The version number displayed is 16.0 or lower (the affected version range is <= 16.0)
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Cross-check via Windows RegistryRun regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\TrendMicro, looking for entries containing '2020' and checking the DisplayVersion valueAffected if Registry entries show a Trend Micro 2020 product with DisplayVersion <= 16.0
A user is affected if any of the four Trend Micro 2020 consumer products (Antivirus+ Security, Internet Security, Maximum Security, or Premium Security) are installed with version 16.0 or lower, since the installer vulnerability would have been triggered during that installation.
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 to the latest supported version of Trend Micro Security or replace with a currently supported security product, as this vulnerability affects an older (2020) consumer product that may no longer receive vendor patches.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27696 — 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-2020-27696 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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