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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-0683High confidence

Microsoft Windows Installer Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Microsoft · Windows

7.8HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Patch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-2176

CISA KEV mirrored by ENISA

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Windows Installer when MSI packages process symbolic links, aka 'Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-0686.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Recorded by ENISA since 3 Nov 2021. Evidence sources: cisa_kev.
ENISA score
7.8 · CVSS 3.1
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionPatch now

CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-05-03 as the remediation due date.

Patch available
01

What, why and how

Microsoft Windows Installer contains a privilege escalation vulnerability when MSI packages process symbolic links, which allows attackers to bypass access restrictions to add or remove files.

What

Microsoft Windows Installer contains a privilege escalation vulnerability when MSI packages process symbolic links, which allows attackers to bypass access restrictions to add or remove files.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

What

Microsoft Windows Installer contains a privilege escalation vulnerability when MSI packages process symbolic links, which allows attackers to bypass access restrictions to add or remove files.

Why

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
Confirmed in the wild

CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2021-11-03.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following') → gain additional privileges
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.
CWE-59 ↗

CWE-59: Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following'). The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.

CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
Privilege escalationCWE-59CISA KEV
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-2176Known-exploited evidence recorded

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Windows Installer when MSI packages process symbolic links, aka 'Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-0686.

Official EUVD record
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-081Multiples vulnérabilités dans Microsoft Windows

.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0672 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0675 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0675 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0676 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0676 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0677 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0677 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0678 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0678 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0679 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0679 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0680 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0680 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0681 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0681 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0682 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0682 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0683 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0683 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0685 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0685 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0686 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0686 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0689 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0689 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0691 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0691 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0698 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0698 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0701 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0701 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0703 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0703 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0704 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0704 Ré

Official advisory
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Patch available
Affected
10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems; 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems; 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems; 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems; 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems; 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems; 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems; 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems
Fixed
An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action
Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 11 Feb 2020 · Last source change 21 Oct 2025, 23:35 UTC · CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-2176
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-2176↗CISA KEV record↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-0683 · cve.blacktree.nl