CVE-2020-7523
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 · uneditedImproper Privilege Management vulnerability exists in Schneider Electric Modbus Serial Driver (see security notification for versions) which could cause local privilege escalation when the Modbus Serial Driver service is invoked. The driver does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
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 · moderate confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Schneider Electric Modbus Serial Driver where the service does not properly manage privileges, allowing a local attacker to gain elevated access when the service is invoked.
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< 14.15.0.0< 2.20_ie_30< 3.20_ie_30CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 if Modbus Serial Driver or Modbus Driver Suite is installedCheck installed programs on the system for Schneider Electric Modbus components, or look for executables named ModbusDriver.exe, ModbusSerialDriver.exe, or similar Modbus-related binaries in program directoriesAffected if Either Schneider Electric Modbus Driver Suite or Modbus Serial Driver is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of the Modbus driverRight-click the installed Modbus driver application, select Properties, and check the Version tab; alternatively, right-click the executable and view File Version detailsAffected if Version is below 14.15.0.0 for Modbus Driver Suite, or below 2.20_ie_30 / 3.20_ie_30 for Modbus Serial Driver
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Check if the Modbus service is runningOpen Services (services.msc) and look for a service related to Modbus Serial Driver or Modbus Driver, or run 'sc query' from command prompt to list running servicesAffected if The Modbus-related service is currently running on the system
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Verify service executable permissionsRight-click the Modbus service executable, go to Properties > Security, and examine the permissions granted to local users or groupsAffected if Lower-privileged users have write or modify access to the service executable or its directory
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Confirm the service runs with elevated privilegesOpen Services, find the Modbus service, right-click and select Properties, and check the 'Log on as' account - look for SYSTEM or Administrator-level privilegesAffected if The service runs under a high-privilege account (like Local System) while the executable is writable by lower-privileged users
A user is affected if Schneider Electric Modbus Serial Driver or Modbus Driver Suite is installed with a version below the fixed releases and the Modbus service is running, allowing potential privilege escalation via the service executable.
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 data2.20_ie_303.20_ie_3014.15.0.0
Apply vendor patches per the Schneider Electric security notification; if patches unavailable, restrict local access to trusted users and monitor service execution for suspicious activity.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7523 — 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-2020-7523 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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