What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities
CVE-2020-16905: Windows Error Reporting Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- Severity: medium (CVSS 4.6 v2.0)
- Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
- EPSS: 1.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
- Public exploit or detection template: none known
- Published: 2020-10-16 · updated 2026-06-17
Description
<p>An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Error Reporting (WER) when WER handles and executes files. The vulnerability could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker can successfully exploit it.</p> <p>An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain greater access to sensitive information and system functionality. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could run a specially crafted application.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way that WER handles and executes files.</p>
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607: 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909 (+1)
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016: 1903, 1909, 2004
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019: all versions
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 1607: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 1709: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 1803: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 1909: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 10 2004: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2016: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation): from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation): from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server version 2004: from 10.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
How to fix
Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 1607 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 1709 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems publication; Microsoft Windows 10 1803 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems publication; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems publication; Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems publication; Microsoft Windows 10 1909 publication; Microsoft Windows 10 2004 publication; Microsoft Windows Server 2016 publication. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
References
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16905
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16905
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