Microsoft Windows
CVE-2020-1421 — LNK Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Executive Summary
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows that could allow remote code execution if a .LNK file is processed. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. The attacker could present to the user a removable drive, or remote share, that contains a malicious .LNK file and an associated malicious binary. When the user opens this drive(or remote share) in Windows Explorer, or any other application that parses the .LNK file, the malicious binary will execute code of the attacker’s choice, on the target system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the processing of shortcut LNK references.
Overview
8.8
CVSS HIGH
Critical
MS Severity
Not Exploited
MS Exploit Status
Less Likely
MS Exploit Likelihood
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
ATTACK VECTOR
Network
ATTACK COMPLEXITY
Low
PRIVILEGES REQUIRED
None
USER INTERACTION
Required
SCOPE
Unchanged
CONFIDENTIALITY
High
INTEGRITY
High
AVAILABILITY
High
EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY
Proof-of-Concept
REMEDIATION LEVEL
Official Fix
REPORT CONFIDENCE
Confirmed
Temporal Score: 6.7
EPSS Score
0.74388
probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.99438 percentile - updated 2026-07-25
View on FIRST.org
Affected Products
29 affected products
| Product | KB Article | Severity | Impact | Restart Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems | 4565513 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 for x64-based Systems | 4565513 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems | 4565511 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems | 4565511 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems | 4565508 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems | 4565508 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems | 4565489 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems | 4565489 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems | 4565489 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems | 4558998 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems | 4558998 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems | 4558998 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1909 for 32-bit Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1909 for ARM64-based Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 2004 for 32-bit Systems | 4565503 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 2004 for ARM64-based Systems | 4565503 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based Systems | 4565503 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1 4565524 (Monthly Rollup) 4565539 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561643 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565524 4565539 Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 4565524 (Monthly Rollup) 4565539 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561643 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565524 4565539 Windows 8.1 for 32-bit systems 4565541 (Monthly Rollup) 4565540 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561666 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565541 4565540 4565541 Windows 8.1 for x64-based systems 4565541 (Monthly Rollup) 4565540 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561666 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565541 4565540 4565541 Windows RT 8.1 | 4565541 (Monthly Rollup) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 4565536 (Monthly Rollup) 4565529 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561670 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565536 4565529 Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) 4565536 (Monthly Rollup) 4565529 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561670 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565536 4565529 Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 4565536 (Monthly Rollup) 4565529 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561670 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565536 4565529 Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) 4565536 (Monthly Rollup) 4565529 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561670 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565536 4565529 Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 4565524 (Monthly Rollup) 4565539 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561643 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565524 4565539 Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation) 4565524 (Monthly Rollup) 4565539 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561643 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565524 4565539 Windows Server 2012 4565537 (Monthly Rollup) 4565535 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561612 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565537 4565535 Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) 4565537 (Monthly Rollup) 4565535 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561612 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565537 4565535 Windows Server 2012 R2 4565541 (Monthly Rollup) 4565540 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561666 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565541 4565540 4565541 Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 4565541 (Monthly Rollup) 4565540 (Security Only) Critical Remote Code Execution 4561666 Base: 7.5 Temporal: 6.7 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes 4565541 4565540 4565541 Windows Server 2016 | 4565511 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) | 4565511 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server 2019 | 4558998 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) | 4558998 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation) | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation) | 4565483 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
| Windows Server, version 2004 (Server Core installation) | 4565503 (Security Update) |
Critical | Remote Code Execution | Yes |
Patches
8 patches
| Article | Type | Restart |
|---|---|---|
4565513 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565511 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565508 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565489 |
Security Update | Yes |
4558998 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565483 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565503 |
Security Update | Yes |
4565541 |
Monthly Rollup | 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
@expend20 working with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative
Shih-Fong Peng ( @_L4ys
References
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