What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities
CVE-2020-16935: Windows COM Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- Severity: high (CVSS 7.2 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 when Windows improperly handles COM object creation. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code with elevated privileges.</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 take control of an affected system.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows COM Server creates COM objects.</p>
Affected products
- Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607: 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909 (+1)
- Microsoft Windows 7: all versions
- Microsoft Windows 8.1: all versions
- Microsoft Windows RT 8.1: all versions
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008: r2-sp1
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012: r2
- 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 7: from 6.1.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1: from 6.1.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows 8.1: from 6.3.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1: from 6.1.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2: from 6.0.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012: from 6.2.0 before publication — fixed in publication
- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2: from 6.3.0 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
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 7 publication. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.
References
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16935
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16935
Get alerted when CVE-2020-16935 or the next vulnerability affects your stack