← Vulnerability feed

Vulnerability record · CVE-2020-26941 · published 26 January 2021

CVE-2020-26941: Eset endpoint antivirus incorrect default permissions vulnerability

Eset · Endpoint Antivirus

A local (authenticated) low-privileged user can exploit a behavior in an ESET installer to achieve arbitrary file overwrite (deletion) of any file via a symlink, due to insecure permissions. The possibility of exploiting this vulnerability is limited and can only take place during the installation phase of ESET products. Furthermore, exploitation can only succeed when Self-Defense is disabled. Affected products are: ESET NOD32 Antivirus, ESET Internet Security, ESET Smart Security, ESET Smart Security Premium versions 13.2 and lower; ESET Endpoint Antivirus, ESET Endpoint Security, ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition, ESET Smart Security Business Edition versions 7.3 and lower; ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server, ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server, ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino, ESET Security for Kerio, ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server versions 7.2 and lower.

5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium EPSS 0.33% · top 76.1% CWE-276 · Incorrect default permissions
5.5CVSS 3.1 base score, v2 3.6
0.33%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
8Affected product versions listed by NVD
2References
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

A local (authenticated) low-privileged user can exploit a behavior in an ESET installer to achieve arbitrary file overwrite (deletion) of any file via a symlink, due to insecure permissions. The possibility of exploiting this vulnerability is limited and can only take place during the installation phase of ESET products. Furthermore, exploitation can only succeed when Self-Defense is disabled. Affected products are: ESET NOD32 Antivirus, ESET Internet Security, ESET Smart Security, ESET Smart Security Premium versions 13.2 and lower; ESET Endpoint Antivirus, ESET Endpoint Security, ESET NOD32 Antivirus Business Edition, ESET Smart Security Business Edition versions 7.3 and lower; ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server, ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server, ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino, ESET Security for Kerio, ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server versions 7.2 and lower.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Affected products

8 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://support.eset.com/en/ca7794-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-fixed-in-eset-products-for-windows Vendor Advisory
https://support.eset.com/en/ca7794-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-fixed-in-eset-products-for-windows Vendor Advisory

Track CVE-2020-26941 inside VULONE

Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.

Start free Open in platform

Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

8.6CVE-2023-5594Eset endpoint antivirus improper certificate validation vulnerabilityImproper validation of the server’s certificate chain in secure traffic scanning feature considered intermediate certificate signed using the MD5 or …EPSS 0.38%7.8CVE-2024-0353Eset endpoint antivirus improper privilege management vulnerabilityLocal privilege escalation vulnerability potentially allowed an attacker to misuse ESET’s file operations to delete files without having proper permi…EPSS 0.55%7.8CVE-2023-3160Eset endpoint antivirus improper privilege management vulnerabilityThe vulnerability potentially allows an attacker to misuse ESET’s file operations during the module update to delete or move files without having pro…EPSS 0.18%7.8CVE-2023-2847Eset cyber security improper privilege management vulnerabilityDuring internal security analysis, a local privilege escalation vulnerability has been identified. On a machine with the affected ESET product instal…EPSS 0.15%7.8CVE-2021-37851Eset endpoint antivirus vulnerabilityLocal privilege escalation in Windows products of ESET allows user who is logged into the system to exploit repair feature of the installer to run ma…EPSS 0.21%7.8CVE-2021-37852Eset endpoint antivirus improper privilege management vulnerabilityESET products for Windows allows untrusted process to impersonate the client of a pipe, which can be leveraged by attacker to escalate privileges in …EPSS 0.60%7.8CVE-2020-11446Eset antivirus and antispyware link following vulnerabilityESET Antivirus and Antispyware Module module 1553 through 1560 allows a user with limited access rights to create hard links in some ESET directories…EPSS 0.38%7.8CVE-2019-16519Eset cyber security improper privilege management vulnerabilityESET Cyber Security 6.7.900.0 for macOS allows a local attacker to execute unauthorized commands as root by abusing an undocumented feature in schedu…EPSS 0.30%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2020-26941), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.