CVE-2020-36166
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 InfoScale 7.x through 7.4.2 on Windows, Storage Foundation through 6.1 on Windows, Storage Foundation HA through 6.1 on Windows, and InfoScale Operations Manager (aka VIOM) Windows Management Server 7.x through 7.4.2. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library from \usr\local\ssl. This library attempts to load the \usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file, which may not exist. On Windows systems, this path could translate to <drive>:\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf, where <drive> could be the default Windows installation drive such as C:\ or the drive where a Veritas product is installed. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under any top-level directory. A low privileged user can create a <drive>:\usr\local\ssl\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.
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 InfoScale and related products load OpenSSL from \usr\local\ssl on Windows startup, which translates to <drive>:\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf. A low-privileged Windows user can create this directory path and place a malicious openssl.cnf that loads a hostile OpenSSL engine, achieving arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM 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>= 7.0.0, <= 7.4.2>= 7.0.0, <= 7.4.2<= 6.1<= 6.1CVSS 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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Identify installed Veritas product versionUse Windows registry or product-specific command to retrieve the installed version of Veritas InfoScale, InfoScale Operations Manager, Storage Foundation, or Storage Foundation and High AvailabilityAffected if The installed version falls within 7.0.0 to 7.4.2 for InfoScale/InfoScale Operations Manager, or is version 6.1 or lower for Storage Foundation products
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Check for existence of the vulnerable OpenSSL configuration pathInspect whether the directory path C:\usr\local\ssl\ (or the equivalent on the system drive) exists on the systemAffected if This directory exists, indicating a potential attacker has already created the malicious path
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Inspect contents of the suspected OpenSSL config directoryList files in the \usr\local\ssl\ directory if it exists, particularly looking for openssl.cnf and any DLL filesAffected if An openssl.cnf file is present that loads a custom OpenSSL engine, or suspicious DLL files are found in this directory
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Verify file creation permissions for non-administrative usersUse icacls or similar tool to check if low-privileged users have permission to create directories at the root of system drives (e.g., icacls C:\)Affected if Non-admin users have Create Folder permission at the drive root, allowing them to create the \usr\local\ssl\ path
The environment is affected if a vulnerable Veritas product version is installed AND low-privileged users can create the \usr\local\ssl\ directory path on any system drive.
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 file creation permissions under top-level drives for non-administrative users to prevent the malicious path from being created, and apply vendor security patches when released.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-36166 — 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-2020-36166 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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