CVE-2020-0636 — Windows Subsystem for Linux Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Subsystem for Linux handles files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated privileges. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would first need code execution on a victim system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Subsystem for Linux handles files.

Overview

7.8

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Jan 14 2020

Last Updated Jan 14 2020

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.00814 — 0.53277 percentile

NVD CVSS 7.8 HIGH — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

High

INTEGRITY

High

AVAILABILITY

High

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Proof-of-Concept

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 7.0

EPSS Score

0.00814

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.53277 percentile - updated 2026-07-25

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

8 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for 32-bit Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for ARM64-based Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation)	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)	`4528760 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

1 patch

Article	Type	Restart
`4528760`	Security Update	Yes

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

Andrea Pierini
Jarvis_1oop of Pinduoduo Security Research Lab
Zhiniang Peng ( @edwardzpeng

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD