CVE-2020-36160
An issue was discovered in Veritas System Recovery before 21.2. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL...
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
9.3
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.
- Record
CVE-2020-36160- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:L/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:N/S:C/UI:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-23738
9.3
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.
- Record
EUVD-2020-23738- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AC:L/AV:L/A:H/C:H/I:H/PR:N/S:C/UI:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-5g5r-7m54-r43v No score
An issue was discovered in Veritas System Recovery before 21.2. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL...
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.
- Record
GHSA-5g5r-7m54-r43v- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
9.3
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.
- Record
CVE-2020-36160- CVSS 3.1
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 7.2 High
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-36160 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.3) in Veritas System Recovery, published January 6, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.45%, the 39th percentile. No source names a fixed version.