CVE-2020-8096
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 · uneditedUntrusted Search Path vulnerability in Bitdefender High-Level Antimalware SDK for Windows allows an attacker to load third party code from a DLL library in the search path. This issue affects: Bitdefender High-Level Antimalware SDK for Windows versions prior to 3.0.1.204 .
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 confidenceUntrusted Search Path vulnerability in Bitdefender High-Level Antimalware SDK allows DLL hijacking - the SDK loads DLLs from locations in the search path that an attacker could control, enabling injection of malicious code. This affects versions prior to 3.0.1.204.
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< 3.0.1.204CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
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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Locate Bitdefender Antimalware SDK installationSearch for files or directories containing 'Bitdefender' and 'SDK' or 'Antimalware SDK' on the system. Check common installation paths like C:\Program Files\Bitdefender or application-specific SDK folders.Affected if The Bitdefender Antimalware SDK is present on the system
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Identify SDK versionRight-click the main SDK DLL file (typically bdcore.dll or similar core library), select Properties, and check the File Version or Product Version field. Alternatively, check the version info in the SDK release notes or manifest if available.Affected if Version is displayed as less than 3.0.1.204
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Check if SDK is actively loadedOpen Task Manager, look for processes that may be using the Bitdefender SDK (applications that integrate this SDK for antimalware functionality). Check for running processes with 'Bitdefender' in the name or processes known to bundle this SDK.Affected if Any application using the vulnerable SDK version is currently running
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Verify DLL search path vulnerabilityIf the SDK is in use, check the system PATH environment variable and the working directory of applications using the SDK. An attacker could place malicious DLLs in directories in the search path that are writable by non-privileged users.Affected if The application working directory or PATH contains writable locations accessible to untrusted users
If the Bitdefender Antimalware SDK version is below 3.0.1.204 and is installed or in use, the system is affected by this DLL hijacking vulnerability.
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 data3.0.1.204
Upgrade the Bitdefender High-Level Antimalware SDK to version 3.0.1.204 or later, which implements secure DLL loading by using explicit paths or safe search order.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8096 — 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-2020-8096 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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