CVE-2020-8472
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 · uneditedInsufficient folder permissions used by system functions in ABB System 800xA products OPCServer for AC800M (versions 6.0 and earlier) and Control Builder M Professional, MMSServer for AC800M, Base Software for SoftControl (version 6.1 and earlier) allow low privileged users to read, modify, add and delete system and application files. An authenticated attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerabilities could escalate his/her privileges, cause system functions to stop and to corrupt user applications.
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 confidenceInsufficient folder permissions in ABB System 800xA OPCServer for AC800M and related products allow authenticated low-privileged users to read, modify, add, and delete system and application files. This permission misconfiguration enables local privilege escalation, denial of system functions, and corruption of user applications.
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<= 6.1<= 6.1<= 6.0<= 6.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed ABB product versionsCheck the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\ABB or look in the program's About/Help section to determine the version of ABB Control Builder M, ABB MMS Server, ABB OPC Server, or ABB Base Software installed on the systemAffected if The installed version number is 6.1 or lower for Control Builder M, MMS Server, or Base Software; or 6.0 or lower for OPC Server
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Locate ABB application installation directoriesFind the installation folder for ABB products, typically under C:\Program Files\ABB or C:\Program Files (x86)\ABB, and identify directories related to Control Builder M, MMS Server, OPCServer for AC800M, and Base SoftwareAffected if The ABB software directories exist on the system
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Check folder permissions on system directoriesRight-click on ABB system directories (such as the OPCServer for AC800M folder, Control Builder M installation folder, and MMS Server folder), view Properties, and examine the Security tab to list which users and groups have access and their permission levelsAffected if Authenticated low-privileged users (non-admin accounts) have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on system or application directories
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Check folder permissions on application directoriesExamine the permissions on application data directories used by ABB products, looking specifically for whether regular users have the ability to read, modify, add, or delete files in these locationsAffected if Regular (non-privileged) user accounts can modify, add, or delete files in critical system or application folders
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Verify write access for low-privileged usersUsing a low-privileged test account or by checking effective permissions, attempt to create, modify, and delete test files within ABB installation directories to confirm the permission misconfigurationAffected if A standard user account can create, modify, or delete files in protected ABB system directories
The system is affected if any ABB Control Builder M (version <= 6.1), MMS Server (version <= 6.1), OPC Server (version <= 6.0), or Base Software (version <= 6.1) is installed AND low-privileged authenticated users have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on the application's system or directories.
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 dataRestrict folder permissions on system and application directories to enforce least privilege, limiting write access to only privileged users or processes required for system operation.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8472 — 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-2020-8472 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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