CVE-2020-36163
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Veritas NetBackup and OpsCenter through 8.3.0.1. NetBackup processes using Strawberry Perl attempt to load and execute libraries from paths that do not exist by default on the Windows operating system. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. If a low privileged user on the Windows system creates an affected path with a library that NetBackup attempts to load, they can execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM or Administrator. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data, access all installed applications, etc. This affects NetBackup master servers, media servers, clients, and OpsCenter servers on the Windows platform. The system is vulnerable during an install or upgrade on all systems and post-install on Master, Media, and OpsCenter servers during normal operations.
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 confidenceVeritas NetBackup processes using Strawberry Perl attempt to load libraries from paths that do not exist by default on Windows (e.g., C:\ paths). A low-privilege Windows user can create these paths with malicious libraries that NetBackup will execute with SYSTEM/Administrator privileges, achieving full system compromise. Affects master servers, media servers, clients, and OpsCenter servers on Windows.
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<= 8.3.0.1<= 8.3.0.1CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 NetBackup or OpsCenter is installedCheck for Veritas NetBackup or OpsCenter installation by reviewing installed programs in Control Panel > Programs and Features, or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for Veritas entriesAffected if Either Veritas NetBackup or Veritas OpsCenter is present on the Windows system
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Identify the installed versionLocate the version information in the program installation directory, or check the registry key for the product version under the uninstall entry found in the previous stepAffected if The installed version is 8.3.0.1 or lower (any version up to and including 8.3.0.1)
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Locate Strawberry Perl installation within NetBackupSearch the NetBackup installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup) for subdirectories containing 'perl' or 'strawberry', or check common paths like C:\strawberry\ or C:\Perl\ within the NetBackup folder structureAffected if Strawberry Perl directories exist within the NetBackup or OpsCenter installation path
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Check for vulnerable library search pathsExamine the identified Perl directories for any C:\-rooted paths (such as C:\perl\lib, C:\library\paths, or similar) that the application attempts to load libraries from. Review any configuration files or scripts that define PERL5LIB, PERL5OPT, or PERLLIB environment variables used by the NetBackup Perl componentsAffected if The application configuration or scripts reference library paths at the root of the C: drive or other locations writable by low-privilege users
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Verify write permissions on application pathsUse icacls or PowerShell Get-Acl to check if standard users or low-privilege accounts have write access to any C:\-rooted paths that NetBackup's Perl component attempts to access, or to subdirectories within the NetBackup installation where libraries could be plantedAffected if Low-privilege users can create directories or write files in paths that NetBackup's Perl component will attempt to load libraries from
A system is affected if it runs NetBackup or OpsCenter version 8.3.0.1 or lower on Windows and has writable locations in paths that Strawberry Perl uses for library loading.
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 dataApply the vendor patch for CVE-2020-36163 or upgrade NetBackup/OpsCenter to a patched version. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict low-privilege user ability to create directories under C:\ and monitor for unauthorized directory creation in the application paths.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36163 — 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-2020-36163 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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