CVE-2020-36164
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 Enterprise Vault through 14.0. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library. The OpenSSL library then attempts to load the openssl.cnf configuration file (which does not exist) at the following locations in both the System drive (typically C:\) and the product's installation drive (typically not C:\): \Isode\etc\ssl\openssl.cnf (on SMTP Server) or \user\ssl\openssl.cnf (on other affected components). By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. A low privileged user can create a openssl.cnf configuration file to load a malicious OpenSSL engine, resulting in arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM when the service starts. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data, access all installed applications, etc. This vulnerability only affects a server with MTP Server, SMTP Archiving IMAP Server, IMAP Archiving, Vault Cloud Adapter, NetApp File server, or File System Archiving for NetApp as File Server.
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 Enterprise Vault loads OpenSSL on startup, which attempts to load openssl.cnf from predictable paths under the root of both C:\ and the installation drive (\Isode\etc\ssl\ and \user\ssl\). Because Windows grants low-privileged users the ability to create directories at the drive root, an attacker can create these paths with a malicious openssl.cnf that loads a crafted OpenSSL engine, achieving arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM.
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<= 14.0CVSS 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
- 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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Verify Veritas Enterprise Vault installation and versionCheck the installed version of Veritas Enterprise Vault on the system. Look in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ or check the program files directory for Enterprise Vault installation folders.Affected if The installed version is 14.0 or lower, indicating the product is vulnerable.
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Identify the installation driveLocate where Veritas Enterprise Vault is installed. The vulnerability affects both C: and the product installation drive root.Affected if The installation drive (typically C: or where EV is installed) is identified as the target drive for the attack.
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Check for vulnerable directory pathsInspect whether the directories \Isode\etc\ssl\ and \user\ssl\ exist at the root of the installation drive. Use file system inspection to check for these paths.Affected if These directories exist at the drive root, indicating the vulnerable paths are present.
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Verify permissions on drive root directoriesExamine the permissions on the root of the installation drive (e.g., C:\) and check if low-privileged users have write access to create new directories.Affected if Low-privileged users can create directories at the drive root, allowing them to create the vulnerable paths.
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Inspect for suspicious openssl.cnf filesCheck if any openssl.cnf file exists in the paths \Isode\etc\ssl\ or \user\ssl\ at the drive root.Affected if A openssl.cnf file is present in either path, indicating potential malicious configuration injection.
A system is affected if Veritas Enterprise Vault version 14.0 or lower is installed and low-privileged users can create directories at the root of the installation drive, allowing them to place a malicious openssl.cnf that gets loaded by OpenSSL on EV startup.
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 dataRestrict write permissions on C:\ and the product installation drive root to prevent unprivileged users from creating the target directories. Create the expected directories (\Isode\etc\ssl\ and \user\ssl\) with restricted permissions to prevent directory injection, and apply the vendor patch when available.
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- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36164 — 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-2020-36164 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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