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Microsoft Office

CVE-2020-16933 — Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Important CVSS 7 EPSS 0.02534 2020-10 archive

Executive Summary

A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle .LNK files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user. To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles these files.

Overview

7
CVSS HIGH
Important
MS Severity
Not Exploited
MS Exploit Status
Less Likely
MS Exploit Likelihood
Category Security Feature Bypass
Released Oct 13 2020
Last Updated Oct 13 2020
Publicly Disclosed No
CISA KEV Not Listed
Known Exploits None Known
EPSS Score 0.02534 — 0.8288 percentile

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR
Local
ATTACK COMPLEXITY
High
PRIVILEGES REQUIRED
None
USER INTERACTION
Required
SCOPE
Unchanged
Temporal Score: 6.3

EPSS Score

0.02534
probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.8288 percentile - updated 2026-06-20
View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

13 affected products
Product KB Article Severity Impact Restart Required
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems Click to Run (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems Click to Run (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac Release Notes (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions Click to Run (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions Click to Run (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac Release Notes (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass No
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions) 4486703 (Security Update) 4486701 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions) 4486703 (Security Update) 4486701 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 RT Service Pack 1 4486692 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions) 4486692 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions) 4486692 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit edition) 4486679 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe
Microsoft Word 2016 (64-bit edition) 4486679 (Security Update) Important Security Feature Bypass Maybe

Patches

5 patches
Article Type Restart
Click to Run Security Update No
Release Notes Security Update No
4486703 (Security Update) 4486701 Security Update Maybe
4486692 Security Update Maybe
4486679 Security Update Maybe

Known Exploits

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