An issue was discovered in Veritas System Recovery before 21.2.
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- No fix listed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
An issue was discovered in Veritas System Recovery before 21.2. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library from \usr\local\ssl. This library attempts to load the from \usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file, which does not exist. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. A low privileged user can create a C:\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf configuration file to load a malicious OpenSSL engine, resulting in arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM when the service starts. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data and installed applications, etc. If the system is also an Active Directory domain controller, then this can affect the entire domain.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | all versions | — | No fix listed | CNA |
- — Vendor— Affected all versions Fixed in — No fix listed CNA
Remediation
No fixed version listed by the sources yet.
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2020-36160
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-5g5r-7m54-r43v
References
More Veritas System Recovery vulnerabilities
- TI-2017-05096 In Veritas System Recovery before 16 SP1, there is a DLL hijacking vulnerability in the… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
- TI-2022-19817 Veritas System Recovery (VSR) versions 18 and 21 store a network destination password in… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
- TI-2022-10027 Veritas System Recovery (VSR) 18 and 21 stores a network destination password in the… CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
Sources
- CVE-2020-36160 · CVE Program
- CVE-2020-36160 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-5g5r-7m54-r43v · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences