Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-37017 is a local privilege escalation issue in Wibu CodeMeter 6.60 on Windows. A low-privileged local user could abuse an unquoted service path for CodeMeter.exe to run code with LocalSystem privileges. This matters most on shared workstations, engineering systems, or servers where untrusted users can log in locally.
Executive priority
Prioritize within normal high-severity remediation timelines, faster for shared or sensitive systems. This is not a remote takeover by itself, but it can let a local low-privileged user gain full system control on affected hosts.
Technical view
The CodeMeter Runtime Server service in CodeMeter 6.60 is reported with an unquoted binary path, classified as CWE-428. The CVSS v4 score is 8.5, with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction. Successful exploitation can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the vulnerable host.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running Wibu CodeMeter 6.60 with the vulnerable Windows service configuration. Risk increases where non-administrative users have local access or where directory permissions allow abuse of Windows service path parsing.
Exploitation context
A public ExploitDB entry exists, but the provided sources do not show confirmed active exploitation. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the supplied data. Treat this as a credible local privilege escalation risk rather than proven in-the-wild activity.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies CodeMeter 6.60 and an unquoted service path in CodeMeter.exe. Public exploit availability is cited, but active exploitation is not established. The supplied sources do not name a specific patched version, so remediation should be aligned with current Wibu guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory endpoints and servers for Wibu CodeMeter 6.60.
- Check Wibu guidance for supported updates or remediation instructions.
- Restrict local interactive access to systems running CodeMeter.
- Review and tighten write permissions on service path directories.
- Prioritize remediation on shared, engineering, licensing, and production systems.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed CodeMeter Runtime version on Windows assets.
- Review the CodeMeter Runtime Server service path configuration.
- Check whether the service executable path is quoted correctly.
- Verify users cannot write to parent directories in the service path.
- Document affected hosts and remediation status in vulnerability tracking.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-428: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-37017 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.5 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.5HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- ExploitDB-48735CVE reference · exploit
- CodeMeter Runtime Product HomepageCVE reference · product
- VulnCheck Advisory: CodeMeter 6.60 - 'CodeMeter.exe' Unquoted Service PathCVE reference · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Unquoted Search Path or Element
Unquoted Search Path or Element represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.