Important CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.00856 2020-04 archive

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows Defender antimalware platform improperly handles hard links. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could overwrite a targeted file leading to an elevated status. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of an affected system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Windows Defender antimalware platform handles hard links.

Overview

7.8
CVSS HIGH
Important
MS Severity
Not Exploited
MS Exploit Status
Less Likely
MS Exploit Likelihood
Category Elevation of Privilege
Released Apr 14 2020
Last Updated Apr 14 2020
Publicly Disclosed No
CISA KEV Not Listed
Known Exploits None Known
EPSS Score 0.00856 — 0.53596 percentile
NVD CVSS 7.8 HIGH — differs from MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
ATTACK VECTOR
Local
ATTACK COMPLEXITY
Low
PRIVILEGES REQUIRED
Low
USER INTERACTION
None
SCOPE
Unchanged

EPSS Score

0.00856
probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.53596 percentile - updated 2026-06-21
View on FIRST.org

Known Exploits

Acknowledgments

WongTing, Zhiniang Peng