CVE-2020-16940 Windows - User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
An attacker with local access can exploit improper junction point handling in the Windows User Profile Service to delete files and folders with elevated privileges.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2020-16940?
CVE-2020-16940 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10, published on 16 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
<p>An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles junction points.</p>
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-16940?
It affects 8 products.
Products include Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows 8.1, Microsoft Windows Rt 8.1, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and 2 more.
How do I fix CVE-2020-16940?
No fix has been published for CVE-2020-16940 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2020-16940 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-16940 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows 10
- CVE-2015-2426 Microsoft Windows Adobe Type Manager Library Remote Code Execution
- CVE-2015-1769 Microsoft Windows Mount Manager Privilege Escalation
- CVE-2020-1467 Windows Hard Link Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-26424 Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CVE-2021-28476 Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Sources
Also known as GHSA-386j-h4xj-j5ph.