Important CVSS 7.8 EPSS 0.04369 2020-09 archive

Executive Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. 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. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to convince a user to open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Visual Studio. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Visual Studio handles objects in memory.

Overview

7.8
CVSS HIGH
Important
MS Severity
Not Exploited
MS Exploit Status
Less Likely
MS Exploit Likelihood
Category Remote Code Execution
Released Sep 8 2020
Last Updated Sep 8 2020
Publicly Disclosed No
CISA KEV Not Listed
Known Exploits None Known
EPSS Score 0.04369 — 0.90007 percentile
NVD CVSS 7.8 HIGH — matches MSRC

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
ATTACK VECTOR
Local
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: 7.0

EPSS Score

0.04369
probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.90007 percentile - updated 2026-06-21
View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

7 affected products
Product KB Article Severity Impact Restart Required
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Update 5 (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Update 5 4571480 (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 4571481 (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 (includes 15.0 - 15.8) Release Notes (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.0 Release Notes (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4 (includes 16.0 - 16.3) Release Notes (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 (includes 16.0 – 16.6) Release Notes (Security Update) Important Remote Code Execution Maybe

Patches

4 patches
Article Type Restart
Security Update Maybe
4571480 Security Update Maybe
4571481 Security Update Maybe
Release Notes Security Update Maybe

Known Exploits