What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2020-16995: Network Watcher Agent Virtual Machine Extension for Linux 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 in Network Watcher Agent virtual machine extension for Linux. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute code with elevated privileges.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would have to be present as a user on the affected virtual machine.</p> <p>The security update addresses this vulnerability by correcting how Network Watcher Agent virtual machine extension for Linux executes with elevated privileges.</p>

Affected products

• Microsoft Network Watcher Agent virtual machine extension for Linux: all versions
• Microsoft Network Watcher Agent virtual machine extension for Linux: before publication — fixed in publication

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft Network Watcher Agent virtual machine extension for Linux publication. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16995
• https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16995

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