CVE-2020-36167

CRITICALNVD 9.39.3—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

This critical-severity CVE scores 9.3 under NVD CVSS v3. EPSS exploit probability: 0.5%, top 63% of all CVEs by exploit prediction. GitHub Security Advisory data not yet ingested — confidence will rise once GHSA publishes (typical lag: hours to days for open-source ecosystem CVEs; never for infrastructure-only CVEs).

Triggered by: NVD CVSS baseline
Sources: epss, nvd
9.3
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS: 0%CVSS: 9.3Exploit: NoneExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

An issue was discovered in the server in Veritas Backup Exec through 16.2, 20.6 before hotfix 298543, and 21.1 before hotfix 657517. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library from the Installation folder. This library in turn attempts to load the /usr/local/ssl/openssl.cnf configuration file, which may not exist. On Windows systems, this path could translate to :\usr\local\ssl\openssl.cnf. A low privileged user can create a :\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, access all installed applications, etc. If the system is also an Active Directory domain controller, then this can affect the entire domain.

CVSS v3
9.3
EG Score
9.3(medium)
EG Risk
47(Track)
EG Risk 47/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity93% × 45%
Exploitation0% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS
37.5%
KEV
Not listed

Published

January 6, 2021

Last Modified

November 21, 2024

Advisory Details (1)

Auto-updated Jul 16, 2026
No patch confirmed yet. Sources: cert.
cert

VU#429301 - Veritas Backup Exec is vulnerable to privilege escalation due to OPENSSLDIR location

https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/429301

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 13× in last 7d / 43× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-23 14:15 UTCEPSS rescore
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  3. 2026-07-23 01:53 UTCEG score recompute
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  63. 2026-05-26 22:36 UTCEG score recompute
  64. 2026-05-26 22:36 UTCGHSA enrichment
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Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2020-36167?
CVE-2020-36167 is a critical vulnerability published on January 6, 2021. An issue was discovered in the server in Veritas Backup Exec through 16.2, 20.6 before hotfix 298543, and 21.1 before hotfix 657517. On start-up, it loads the OpenSSL library from the Installation folder. This library in turn attempts to load the /usr/local/ssl/openssl.cnf configuration file, which…
When was CVE-2020-36167 disclosed?
CVE-2020-36167 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on January 6, 2021, with the most recent update on November 21, 2024. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2020-36167 actively exploited?
CVE-2020-36167 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 37.5% percentile likelihood of exploitation in the next 30 days — higher percentiles indicate greater predicted risk.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-36167?
CVE-2020-36167 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.3 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2020-36167?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2020-36167, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

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