Virtual Apps And DesktopsApplication · Citrix
CVE-2020-8283
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 authorised user on a Windows host running Citrix Universal Print Server can perform arbitrary command execution as SYSTEM in CVAD versions before 2009, 1912 LTSR CU1 hotfixes CTX285870 and CTX286120, 7.15 LTSR CU6 hotfix CTX285344 and 7.6 LTSR CU9.
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 confidenceAn authorized user on a Windows host running Citrix Universal Print Server can perform arbitrary command execution as SYSTEM due to a privilege escalation flaw in the print server component of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops (CVAD). The vulnerability allows any authenticated user to escalate privileges to the highest level on the system.
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
Virtual Apps And DesktopsApplication
<= 2006>= 1903, <= 1912
XenappApplication
< 7.6>= 7.7, < 7.15= 7.6= 7.15
XendesktopApplication
< 7.6>= 7.7, < 7.15= 7.6= 7.15CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Citrix Universal Print Server is installedCheck Windows Services or installed programs for 'Citrix Universal Print Server' or 'UPS' component. On the print server host, verify the Universal Print Server service exists and is running.Affected if Universal Print Server component is present on the system
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Identify the Citrix product and versionCheck Add/Remove Programs or the Citrix Director/Studio consoles for the installed version of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenApp, or XenDesktop. The version is typically displayed as '2006', '1912', '7.15', etc.Affected if The installed product version matches the affected ranges: CVAD <= 2006, >= 1903 through <= 1912; XenApp/XenDesktop < 7.6, >= 7.7 through < 7.15, or versions 7.6 and 7.15 specifically
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Verify if Universal Print Server is enabled and configuredCheck if the Universal Print Server service is running and if print queues are configured to use it. In Citrix Studio, examine the printing configuration under the printer provisioning settings.Affected if Universal Print Server is enabled and actively handling print requests, allowing any authenticated user to potentially exploit the privilege escalation flaw
A Windows host is affected if it runs a vulnerable version of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, XenApp, or XenDesktop AND has the Universal Print Server component installed and enabled.
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 data7.67.15
Apply the appropriate Citrix hotfixes (CTX285870, CTX286120, CTX285344) for the respective LTSR versions, or upgrade to CVAD version 2009 or later which contains the fix.
Fix this in Virtual Apps And Desktops
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8283 — 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-2020-8283 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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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.
- 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