Owncloud Desktop ClientApplication · Owncloud
CVE-2020-28646
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 · uneditedownCloud owncloud/client before 2.7 allows DLL Injection. The desktop client loaded development plugins from certain directories when they were present.
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 ownCloud desktop client before version 2.7 is vulnerable to DLL injection because it loads development plugins from certain directories when those directories are present on the system. An attacker with write access to these directories can place malicious DLL files that will be loaded by the client, allowing arbitrary code execution.
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
Owncloud Desktop ClientApplication
< 2.7CVSS 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 ownCloud desktop client installationCheck for ownCloud desktop client installation on the system. On Windows, look in Program Files or Program Files (x86) for an 'ownCloud' folder, or check for the ownCloud executable in common installation paths. On macOS, check /Applications for ownCloud. On Linux, check using package manager commands like dpkg -l | grep owncloud or rpm -qa | grep owncloud.Affected if ownCloud desktop client is installed and version is below 2.7
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Determine the installed ownCloud client versionRun the ownCloud client executable with version flag, or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. On Windows, the executable is typically named owncloud.exe or ownCloud.exe.Affected if The displayed version number is less than 2.7 (for example, 2.6.x, 2.5.x, etc.)
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Locate development plugin directoriesSearch the system for directories commonly used for development plugins or libraries that the ownCloud client may load from. Common locations include the user's home directory, application data folders, or the directory where ownCloud is installed. Look for folders with names suggesting development tools, plugins, or temporary/development locations.Affected if These directories exist on the system and are accessible to other users or processes
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Check directory write permissionsExamine the permissions on any identified development plugin directories. Determine if unprivileged users or processes can write files to these locations.Affected if Non-administrative users or attacker-controlled processes can write to directories that ownCloud loads plugins from
The environment is affected if ownCloud desktop client version is below 2.7 AND development plugin directories exist on the system with write access available to attackers, allowing malicious DLL injection.
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 data2.7
Upgrade the ownCloud desktop client to version 2.7 or later, which removes the dangerous behavior of loading development plugins from these directories.
Fix this in Owncloud Desktop Client
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-28646 — 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-2020-28646 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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