CVE-2020-1506 — Windows Start-Up Application Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions. There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability: In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email. In a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.

Overview

6.1

CVSS MEDIUM

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Sep 8 2020

Last Updated Sep 8 2020

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.02103 — 0.79314 percentile

NVD CVSS 6.1 MEDIUM — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

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

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

High

INTEGRITY

Low

AVAILABILITY

None

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Proof-of-Concept

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 5.5

EPSS Score

0.02103

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.79314 percentile - updated 2026-06-21

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

19 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`4577041 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems	`4577041 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems	`4577041 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems	`4577032 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems	`4577032 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems	`4577032 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems	`4570333 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems	`4570333 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems	`4570333 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1909 for 32-bit Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1909 for ARM64-based Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems	`4574727 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 2004 for 32-bit Systems	`4571756 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 2004 for ARM64-based Systems	`4571756 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based Systems	`4571756 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Internet Explorer 11 on Windows Server 2019	`4570333 (Security Update)`	Low	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

5 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4577041`	Security Update	Yes
`4577032`	Security Update	Yes
`4570333`	Security Update	Yes
`4574727`	Security Update	Yes
`4571756`	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

pgboy (http://weibo.com/pgboy1988)

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD