CVE-2020-8099

Privilege escalation via quarantined-file junction substitution

Published Apr 21, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Link-following in Bitdefender Antivirus Free before 1.0.17 allows local users to restore substituted quarantine content to privileged paths. The quarantine restore workflow follows a user-controlled Windows junction, so a quarantined file can be replaced before the privileged restore writes it to the junction target. An unprivileged local user must create the junction and trigger a restore; the resulting privileged file placement enables privilege escalation.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.44%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Link-following in Bitdefender Antivirus Free before 1.0.17 allows local users to restore substituted quarantine content to privileged paths. The quarantine restore workflow follows a user-controlled Windows junction, so a quarantined file can be replaced before the privileged restore writes it to the junction target. An unprivileged local user must create the junction and trigger a restore; the resulting privileged file placement enables privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-8099
Published
Apr 21, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Bitdefender
Product
Bitdefender Antivirus Free
Classifications
CWE-59, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 21, 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 <1.0.17

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Bitdefender · Bitdefender Antivirus Freeversion=unspecified <1.0.17

Published CVSS scores

7.1BitdefenderCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
6.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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