CVE-2020-16892 — Windows Image Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows kernel image handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions. To exploit the vulnerability, a locally authenticated attacker could run a specially crafted application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Windows kernel image properly handles objects in memory.

Overview

7.8

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Oct 13 2020

Last Updated Oct 13 2020

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.00894 — 0.54769 percentile

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

Temporal Score: 7.0

EPSS Score

0.00894

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.54769 percentile - updated 2026-06-20

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

36 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems	`4580327 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 for x64-based Systems	`4580327 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems	`4580346 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems	`4580346 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`4580328 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems	`4580328 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems	`4580328 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems	`4580330 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems	`4580330 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems	`4580330 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems	`4577668 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems	`4577668 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems	`4577668 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for 32-bit Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for ARM64-based Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 2004 for 32-bit Systems	`4579311 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 2004 for ARM64-based Systems	`4579311 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based Systems	`4579311 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 8.1 for 32-bit systems	`4580347 (Monthly Rollup) 4580358 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 8.1 for x64-based systems	`4580347 (Monthly Rollup) 4580358 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows RT 8.1	`4580347 (Monthly Rollup)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2012	`4580382 (Monthly Rollup) 4580353 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)	`4580382 (Monthly Rollup) 4580353 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2012 R2	`4580347 (Monthly Rollup) 4580358 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)	`4580347 (Monthly Rollup) 4580358 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2016	`4580346 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)	`4580346 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019	`4577668 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)	`4577668 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation)	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)	`4577671 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 2004 (Server Core installation)	`4579311 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

10 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4580327`	Security Update	Yes
`4580346`	Security Update	Yes
`4580328`	Security Update	Yes
`4580330`	Security Update	Yes
`4577668`	Security Update	Yes
`4577671`	Security Update	Yes
`4579311`	Security Update	Yes
`4580347 (Monthly Rollup) 4580358`	Monthly Rollup	Yes
`4580347`	Monthly Rollup	Yes
`4580382 (Monthly Rollup) 4580353`	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

anonymous

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD