Fortisiem Windows AgentApplication · Fortinet
CVE-2020-9292
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 unquoted service path vulnerability in the FortiSIEM Windows Agent component may allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges via the AoWinAgt executable service path.
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 an unquoted service path vulnerability in the FortiSIEM Windows Agent (AoWinAgt.exe). When service paths contain spaces and aren't enclosed in quotes, Windows attempts to execute binaries in intermediate path directories before the final executable, allowing privilege escalation if an attacker places a malicious executable in such a location.
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
Fortisiem Windows AgentApplication
<= 3.1.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Verify the AoWinAgt service existsRun 'sc query AoWinAgt' in Command Prompt or use Get-Service -Name AoWinAgt in PowerShellAffected if The service is not found, meaning the FortiSIEM Windows Agent is not installed or uses a different service name
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Retrieve the service binary path configurationRun 'sc qc AoWinAgt' to query the service configuration, or use 'Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter "Name='AoWinAgt'" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty PathName' in PowerShellAffected if The command fails or returns no path, indicating the service is not configured
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Check if the binary path is quotedExamine the BINARY_PATH_NAME from the service configuration. Look for the path string and determine if it starts and ends with quotation marksAffected if The path does NOT have opening and closing quotes around the full executable path - for example: C:\Program Files\FortiSIEM\agent\AoWinAgt.exe is unquoted while "C:\Program Files\FortiSIEM\agent\AoWinAgt.exe" is quoted
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Identify spaces in unquoted pathsIf the path is unquoted, verify whether it contains any space characters between directory names (such as 'Program Files')Affected if The unquoted path contains one or more spaces - for example C:\Program Files\FortiSIEM\agent\AoWinAgt.exe would allow Windows to attempt executing C:\Program or C:\Program Files\FortiSIEM\agent first
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Confirm agent version is within affected rangeCheck the installed FortiSIEM Windows Agent version through 'sc qc AoWinAgt' output, the file properties of AoWinAgt.exe, or the Windows Programs and Features listAffected if The installed version is 3.1.2 or lower, meaning the specific version listed in the CVE affected products
A user is affected if the AoWinIgt service exists, the binary path is unquoted, the path contains spaces, and the installed version is 3.1.2 or lower.
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.
dbcve · scopedModify the FortiSIEM AoWinAgt Windows service configuration to enclose the executable path in quotes using 'sc config' or by editing the registry key under HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\AoWinAgt, then verify the agent functions correctly after the change.
FortiSIEM Windows Agent 3.1.3 or later
- Upgrade FortiSIEM Windows Agent to version 3.1.3 or later to resolve the unquoted service path vulnerability
- Alternatively, if upgrading is not immediately possible, modify the Windows service configuration to use a quoted path for the AoWinAgt executable - this requires removing and re-registering the service with proper quotation marks around the executable path
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Fortisiem Windows Agent
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,512.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-9292 — 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-2020-9292 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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