A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows Camera Codec Pack 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.
Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a user open a specially crafted file with an affected version of the Windows Camera Codec Pack. 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) containing a specially crafted file designed to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker would have no way to force users to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.
The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Camera Codec Pack handles objects in memory.
Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-16968? It affects 1 product. Products: Microsoft Windows 10. ## How do I fix CVE-2020-16968? No fix has been published for CVE-2020-16968 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. ## Is CVE-2020-16968 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-16968 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows 10 - [CVE-2015-2426](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2426/): Microsoft Windows Adobe Type Manager Library Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2015-1769](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-1769/): Microsoft Windows Mount Manager Privilege Escalation (medium 6.6, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2020-1467](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-1467/): Windows Hard Link Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (critical 10.0) - [CVE-2021-26424](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-26424/): Windows TCP/IP Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (critical 9.9) - [CVE-2021-28476](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28476/): Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (critical 9.9) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2020-16968 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2020-16968 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10, published on 16 Oct 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-16968 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Microsoft Windows 10. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16968/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16968/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-16968 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16968 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-16968 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-16968/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.