Improper directory permissions in the Hotspot Shield VPN client software for Windows 10.3.0 and earlier may allow an authorized user to pot…

published 2020-09-24 6y ago modified 2026-06-17 4mo ago also EUVD-2020-9319

cvss: 7.8; version 3.1, NVD
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 0.4%; EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 32%
public exploits: 0; none known

Improper directory permissions in the Hotspot Shield VPN client software for Windows 10.3.0 and earlier may allow an authorized user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access. The vulnerability allows a local user to corrupt system files: a local user can create a specially crafted symbolic link to a critical file on the system and overwrite it with privileges of the application.

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Exploit prediction

0.38% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 32% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
NVD	3.1	7.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	7.2	AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Classification

Weakness

CWE-59 Improper Link Resolution Before File Access
CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource

References

pango.co /sec31944/
vendor-advisory
cymptom.com /cve-2020-17365-hotspot-shield-vpn-new-privilege-escalation-vulnerability/2020/10/
third-party-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2020-17365
NVD CVE-2020-17365

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.