CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-15264 — The Boxstarter installer before version 2.13.0 configures C:\ProgramData\Boxstarter to be in the system-wide PATH environment variable

High CVSS 8

The Boxstarter installer before version 2.13.0 configures C:\ProgramData\Boxstarter to be in the system-wide PATH environment variable. However, this directory is writable by normal, unprivileged users. To exploit the vulnerability, place a DLL in this directory that a privileged service is looking for. For example, WptsExtensions.dll When Windows starts, it'll execute the code in DllMain() with SYSTEM privileges. Any unprivileged user can execute code with SYSTEM privileges. The issue is fixed in version 3.13.0

Severity
High
CVSS
8 (3.1)
Published
2020-10-20
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system
Weaknesses
CWE-73, CWE-668

Affected products

  • chocolatey / boxstarter

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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