CVE-2020-16912 — Windows Backup Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Backup Service improperly handles file operations. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to gain execution on the victim system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application to elevate privileges. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Backup Service handles file operations.

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 0.00893 — 0.54742 percentile

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

Low

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

Temporal Score: 7.0

EPSS Score

0.00893

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.54742 percentile - updated 2026-06-20

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

33 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 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1	`4580345 (Monthly Rollup) 4580387 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1	`4580345 (Monthly Rollup) 4580387 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1	`4580345 (Monthly Rollup) 4580387 (Security Only)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)	`4580345 (Monthly Rollup) 4580387 (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

8 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
`4580345 (Monthly Rollup) 4580387`	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

Yuki Chen

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD