CVE-2020-36163: An issue was discovered in Veritas NetBackup and OpsCenter through 8.3.0.1.

An issue was discovered in Veritas NetBackup and OpsCenter through 8.3.0.1.

An issue was discovered in Veritas NetBackup and OpsCenter through 8.3.0.1. NetBackup processes using Strawberry Perl attempt to load and execute libraries from paths that do not exist by default on the Windows operating system. By default, on Windows systems, users can create directories under C:\. If a low privileged user on the Windows system creates an affected path with a library that NetBackup attempts to load, they can execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM or Administrator. This gives the attacker administrator access on the system, allowing the attacker (by default) to access all data, access all installed applications, etc. This affects NetBackup master servers, media servers, clients, and OpsCenter servers on the Windows platform. The system is vulnerable during an install or upgrade on all systems and post-install on Master, Media, and OpsCenter servers during normal operations.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by MITRE

What it means for a small business

If your business uses Netbackup, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.41%, higher than 35% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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