CVE-2020-0696 — Microsoft Outlook Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Executive Summary

A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Outlook software when it improperly handles the parsing of URI formats. The security feature bypass by itself does not allow arbitrary code execution. However, to successfully exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to use it in conjunction with another vulnerability, such as a remote code execution vulnerability, to take advantage of the security feature bypass vulnerability and run arbitrary code. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to convince a user to open a specially crafted URI with an affected version of Microsoft Outlook software. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Outlook handles the parsing of URI formats.

Overview

6.5

CVSS MEDIUM

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Security Feature Bypass

Released Feb 11 2020

Last Updated Feb 11 2020

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.0487 — 0.90913 percentile

NVD CVSS 6.5 MEDIUM — differs from MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

ATTACK VECTOR

Network

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

None

USER INTERACTION

Required

SCOPE

Unchanged

EPSS Score

0.0487

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.90913 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

11 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	No
Microsoft Outlook 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)	`4484163 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)	`4484163 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2013 RT Service Pack 1	`4484156 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)	`4484156 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)	`4484156 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2016 (32-bit edition)	`4484250 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Microsoft Outlook 2016 (64-bit edition)	`4484250 (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	Maybe
Office 365 ProPlus for 32-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	No
Office 365 ProPlus for 64-bit Systems	`Click to Run (Security Update)`	Important	Security Feature Bypass	No

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`Click to Run`	Security Update	No
`4484163`	Security Update	Maybe
`4484156`	Security Update	Maybe
`4484250`	Security Update	Maybe

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

Resecurity Inc., Reegun Richard J

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD