CVE-2020-6014
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 · uneditedCheck Point Endpoint Security Client for Windows, with Anti-Bot or Threat Emulation blades installed, before version E83.20, tries to load a non-existent DLL during a query for the Domain Name. An attacker with administrator privileges can leverage this to gain code execution within a Check Point Software Technologies signed binary, where under certain circumstances may cause the client to terminate.
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 confidenceThis is a DLL planting/hijacking vulnerability in Check Point Endpoint Security Client for Windows (with Anti-Bot or Threat Emulation blades, versions before E83.20). The client attempts to load a non-existent DLL during domain name resolution queries. An attacker with administrator privileges can place a malicious DLL in the load path to achieve code execution within a Check Point-signed binary, which may also cause the client to crash.
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< e83.20CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Verify Check Point Endpoint Security Client installation and versionOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check C:\Program Files\CheckPoint\Endpoint Security\, look for 'Check Point Endpoint Security' and note the installed version numberAffected if The installed version is earlier than E83.20 (for example, E82.30, E81.00, etc.)
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Confirm Anti-Bot or Threat Emulation blade is enabledOpen Check Point Endpoint Security Client GUI, navigate to the blades or components list, or check the Windows Services for 'Check Point Endpoint Security' related services. These blades add specific Threat Emulation or Anti-Bot componentsAffected if Either the Anti-Bot blade or Threat Emulation blade is listed as installed and active in the client configuration
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Identify the vulnerable DLL loading behavior during DNS queriesUse Process Monitor (from Sysinternals) with a filter for the Check Point Endpoint Security client executable (commonly EndpointSecurity.exe or similar Check Point processes), then trigger domain name resolution (ping a hostname or use nslookup). Look for attempts to load a DLL that does not exist (NAME_NOT_FOUND)Affected if The client attempts to load a non-existent DLL from a writable path during DNS resolution operations, indicating the DLL hijacking vulnerability is present
You are affected if Check Point Endpoint Security Client for Windows with Anti-Bot or Threat Emulation blades is installed at a version earlier than E83.20, and the client exhibits DLL loading failures during domain resolution queries.
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 dataUpgrade Check Point Endpoint Security Client for Windows to version E83.20 or later. Restrict administrator access to prevent unauthorized DLL planting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6014 — 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-2020-6014 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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