CVE-2019-20400Public exploit

SYSTEM privilege escalation via unsafe DLL search

Published Feb 6, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

DLL hijacking in Tomcat in Atlassian Jira Server before 8.5.2 allows local users to execute code with SYSTEM privileges. The bundled Commons Daemon service loads a missing MSVCR120.dll through LoadLibraryExW without safe-search flags or signature validation, allowing resolution from PATH. Exploitation requires Windows, a SYSTEM-run Jira service, and a PATH directory whose ACL permits a local user to plant the DLL; service startup then loads it.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

DLL hijacking in Tomcat in Atlassian Jira Server before 8.5.2 allows local users to execute code with SYSTEM privileges. The bundled Commons Daemon service loads a missing MSVCR120.dll through LoadLibraryExW without safe-search flags or signature validation, allowing resolution from PATH. Exploitation requires Windows, a SYSTEM-run Jira service, and a PATH directory whose ACL permits a local user to plant the DLL; service startup then loads it.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-20400
Published
Feb 6, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Atlassian
Product
Jira Server
Classifications
CWE-427, T1574.007
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 6, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <8.5.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Atlassian · Jira Serverversion=unspecified <8.5.2

Published CVSS scores

7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.4NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
T1574.007Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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