CVE-2020-15264

Q: How do I fix CVE-2020-15264?

Upgrade boxstarter to 2.13.0 or later.

Q: Is CVE-2020-15264 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2020-15264 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.6% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 73% of all scored CVEs.

Q: How severe is CVE-2020-15264?

CVE-2020-15264 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.0, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

Q: What does CVE-2020-15264 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for boxstarter (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

HIGHEPSS 73th pctl

8.0

CVSS v3

NVD

Description

The Boxstarter installer before version 2.13.0 configures C:\ProgramData\Boxstarter to be in the system-wide PATH environment variable. However, this directory is writable by normal, unprivileged users. To exploit the vulnerability, place a DLL in this directory that a privileged service is looking for. For example, WptsExtensions.dll When Windows starts, it'll execute the code in DllMain() with SYSTEM privileges. Any unprivileged user can execute code with SYSTEM privileges. The issue is fixed in version 3.13.0

CWE-73External Control of File Name or Path CWE-668

How to fix

Remediation Available

boxstarterNVD

Affected:< 2.13.0Fixed in:2.13.0CVE-2020-15264derived from NVD

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorNetwork

Attack ComplexityHigh

Privileges RequiredLow

User InteractionRequired

ScopeChanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit Intelligence

1.55%probability of exploitation in 30 days

73rdpercentile

Elevated risk: more likely to be exploited than 73% of all known CVEs.

References

Patch1

github.com

Third-Party Advisory2

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-73 (External Control of File Name or Path) vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVE	Severity	CVSS	EPSS	Exploited	Fix
CVE-2022-39952	Critical	9.8	100%	-	Fix
CVE-2024-8517	Critical	9.8	95%	-	Fix
CVE-2025-33053	High	8.8	86%	KEV	Fix
CVE-2023-4634	Critical	9.8	83%	-	Fix
CVE-2018-17246	Critical	9.8	82%	-	Fix
CVE-2024-43451	Medium	6.5	82%	KEV	Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2020-15264?

Upgrade boxstarter to 2.13.0 or later.

Is CVE-2020-15264 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2020-15264 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.6% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 73% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2020-15264?

CVE-2020-15264 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.0, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2020-15264 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for boxstarter (NVD). Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2024-11-21.