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CVE-2020-6921

7.8 HIGH

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2020-6921 is a vulnerability in HP Support Assistant software that allows attackers to compromise system integrity and communicate with untrusted clients. This affects users running vulnerable versions of HP Support Assistant on Windows systems. The vulnerability could enable local privilege escalation or unauthorized system modifications.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • HP Support Assistant
Versions: Versions prior to 9.11
Operating Systems: Windows
Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes
Notes: Affects HP computers with HP Support Assistant installed. The vulnerability is in the software's update mechanism.

📦 What is this software?

Support Assistant by Hp

View all CVEs affecting Support Assistant →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Complete system compromise through local privilege escalation leading to administrative control, data theft, or malware installation.

🟠

Likely Case

Local attackers gaining elevated privileges to modify system settings, install unwanted software, or access restricted data.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited impact if proper access controls, least privilege principles, and network segmentation are implemented.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - This appears to be a local vulnerability requiring access to the system.
🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users with local access could exploit this for privilege escalation.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires local access to the system. No public exploit code has been identified.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: HP Support Assistant 9.11 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_5585999-5586023-16

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Open HP Support Assistant. 2. Check for updates. 3. Install any available updates. 4. Alternatively, download and install HP Support Assistant 9.11 or later from HP's website. 5. Restart the computer.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Uninstall HP Support Assistant

windows

Remove the vulnerable software entirely if not needed

Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program > Select HP Support Assistant > Uninstall

Disable HP Support Assistant Service

windows

Prevent the vulnerable service from running

sc stop "HP Support Assistant Service"
sc config "HP Support Assistant Service" start= disabled

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Implement strict local access controls and least privilege principles
  • Monitor for unusual process creation or privilege escalation attempts

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check HP Support Assistant version in the application or via Programs and Features in Control Panel

Check Version:

wmic product where name="HP Support Assistant" get version

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm HP Support Assistant version is 9.11 or later

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Unusual process creation by HP Support Assistant components
  • Failed update attempts
  • Privilege escalation events

Network Indicators:

  • Unusual outbound connections from HP Support Assistant

SIEM Query:

Process creation where parent_process contains "HP" and process_name contains privileged commands

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2020-6921
CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published: February 16, 2022
Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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