Is CVE-2020-8961 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2020-8961 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2020-8961 be exploited remotely?

Yes. CVE-2020-8961 is exploitable remotely over the network (CVSS attack vector: Network).

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-8961?

CVE-2020-8961 has a CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

HOME VULNERABILITIESCVE-2020-8961

CRITICAL

CVE-2020-8961

NVD-CWE-noinfoPublished: April 9, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

9.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

An issue was discovered in Avira Free-Antivirus before 15.0.2004.1825. The Self-Protection feature does not prohibit a write operation from an external process. Thus, code injection can be used to turn off this feature. After that, one can construct an event that will modify a file at a specific location, and pass this event to the driver, thereby defeating the anti-virus functionality.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-8961 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.