What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-16910: Windows Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

• Severity: medium (CVSS 4.3 v2.0)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 2.8% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2020-10-16 · updated 2026-06-17
• Weakness: CWE-281

Description

<p>A security feature bypass vulnerability exists when Microsoft Windows fails to handle file creation permissions, which could allow an attacker to create files in a protected Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) location.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker could run a specially crafted application to bypass Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) variable security in Windows.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting security feature behavior to enforce permissions.</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-2020-16910
• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16910

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