CVE-2021-20616
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 the installer of SKYSEA Client View Ver.1.020.05b to Ver.16.001.01g allows an attacker to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.
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 confidenceAn untrusted search path vulnerability in the SKYSEA Client View installer allows an attacker to place a malicious Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory that the installer searches when loading libraries. During installation, the installer inadvertently loads this attacker-controlled DLL with elevated privileges, enabling privilege escalation.
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>= 1.020.05b, <= 16.001.01gCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Check installed Skysea Client View versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, find 'Skysea Client View' and note the version column, or run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{Skysea Product GUID}' /v DisplayVersionAffected if The displayed version is >= 1.020.05b and <= 16.001.01g
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Inspect system PATH for untrusted directoriesOpen Command Prompt and run: echo %PATH% - review each directory separated by semicolons. Check for any directories writable by untrusted users (temp folders, downloads, network shares, or user-controlled directories)Affected if Any writable or untrusted directory appears in system PATH before Windows system directories
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Check for suspicious DLLs in installer directoryLocate the Skysea installer directory or any folder containing 'Skysea' installer files (.exe or .msi). List all DLL files present: dir *.dll /a. Check for DLLs with unusual names or recent modification datesAffected if Unexpected DLL files exist in the same folder as the installer or in common temp/download locations
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Verify working directory for DLL planting riskCheck if the working directory (where installer is run from) contains any DLLs, or if temp directories contain Skysea-named DLLs. Run: dir %TEMP%\*.dll 2>nul to list DLLs in temp folderAffected if Any suspicious DLLs exist in temp folders or working directories that could be loaded by the installer
You are affected if Skysea Client View version is between 1.020.05b and 16.001.01g AND untrusted or writable directories exist in PATH or the installer is run from a directory containing suspicious DLLs.
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 dataUsers should obtain the installer from official vendor sources and ensure the installation environment is secure (no untrusted directories in system PATH or working directory). The vendor has released patched versions addressing this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 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 $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-20616 — 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-2021-20616 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
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