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BitbucketApplication · Atlassian

CVE-2020-36233

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.10.9 / 7.6.4 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
The Microsoft Windows Installer for Atlassian Bitbucket Server and Data Center before version 6.10.9, 7.x before 7.6.4, and from version 7.7.0 before 7.10.1 allows local attackers to escalate privileges because of weak permissions on the installation directory.

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 confidence

The Microsoft Windows Installer for Atlassian Bitbucket Server and Data Center creates the installation directory with overly permissive file system permissions (likely weak ACLs allowing broad write or modify access). This enables a local unprivileged user to modify executable files, libraries, or configuration files within the Bitbucket installation path, leading to privilege escalation to the level of the service account (typically SYSTEM or a high-privileged user).

MitigationUpgrade Bitbucket Server/Data Center to version 6.10.9, 7.6.4, 7.10.1 or later. After upgrading, verify that the installation directory inherits appropriate restrictive permissions consistent with least-privilege principles.

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
BitbucketApplication
Affected:< 6.10.9>= 7.0.0, < 7.6.4>= 7.7.0, < 7.10.1

CVSS 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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Bitbucket installation directory on Windows
    Check common installation paths such as C:\Atlassian\Bitbucket, C:\Program Files\Atlassian\Bitbucket, or the custom path used during installation. Use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\' -Directory -Filter '*Bitbucket*' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Affected if Bitbucket is installed on Windows and the installation directory exists
  2. Determine installed Bitbucket version
    Locate the version file in the Bitbucket home or installation directory. Common locations: <install_dir>\Bitbucket\<version> or check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Atlassian\Bitbucket for the InstallVersion value. Run: icacls <install_dir>\Bitbucket to confirm permissions
    Affected if Installed version falls within < 6.10.9, >= 7.0.0 and < 7.6.4, or >= 7.7.0 and < 7.10.1
  3. Check ACLs on the Bitbucket installation directory
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: icacls "<Bitbucket_install_dir>" to list all security principals with permissions. Look for entries like Everyone, Users, or BUILTIN\Users with (F) Full Control or (M) Modify permissions
    Affected if Non-admin users or groups such as Everyone or Users have Full Control, Modify, or Write permissions on the installation directory or its subdirectories
  4. Verify write access to executables and libraries
    Check specific high-value targets: icacls "<install_dir>\Bitbucket\app\*" | findstr /i "Write". Also inspect bin directory and lib directory for write permissions granted to non-admin users
    Affected if Unprivileged users can write to .exe, .dll, .jar, or configuration files within the Bitbucket installation path
  5. Inspect configuration directory permissions
    Run: icacls "<install_dir>\Bitbucket\shared\config" or the path containing bitbucket.properties. Verify if Users or Everyone group has Modify or Write access
    Affected if Configuration files are writable by unprivileged local users

The environment is affected if Bitbucket Server or Data Center is installed on Windows with a version in the affected ranges AND the installation directory grants write or modify permissions to unprivileged users or groups such as Everyone or Users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.10.9 / 7.6.4 / 7.10.1 or later
Fixed in 6.10.97.6.47.10.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Bitbucket Server/Data Center to version 6.10.9, 7.6.4, 7.10.1 or later. After upgrading, verify that the installation directory inherits appropriate restrictive permissions consistent with least-privilege principles.

Fix this in Bitbucket Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-36233 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data