CVE-2020-8446Public exploit

Arbitrary file write via unsanitized agent path

Published Jan 30, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Path traversal in OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0 allows local users to write files within the server chroot via crafted syscheck messages. The syscheck decoder passes an unsanitized message location as the agent argument to DB_File, which joins it to SYSCHECK_DIR and opens the resulting path for read-write access. The user must write directly to the analysisd UNIX domain socket; remote agent traffic cannot control the full path prefix.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.50%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Path traversal in OSSEC-HIDS 2.7 through 3.5.0 allows local users to write files within the server chroot via crafted syscheck messages. The syscheck decoder passes an unsanitized message location as the agent argument to DB_File, which joins it to SYSCHECK_DIR and opens the resulting path for read-write access. The user must write directly to the analysisd UNIX domain socket; remote agent traffic cannot control the full path prefix.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-8446
Published
Jan 30, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-22, T1565.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 30, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.1NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

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-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

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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