CVE-2020-0638

Microsoft Windows 10 1809

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedRansomware-linked

Published

14 January 2020

Modified

12 August 2026

KEV Added

23 May 2022

Patch / advisory

View advisory

CVSS Score v3.1 7.8

Click a component to see what it means

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Score 0.024 83th percentile

Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2020-0638 is a high-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1809. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Security Account Manager (T1003.002); ranked in the top 17% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

CVE-2020-0638 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Update Notification Manager component, arising from improper handling of files. The flaw is tracked under CWE-59 and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 reflecting local attack vector, low attack complexity, and low privileges required.

An attacker who has already obtained code execution on a target system can leverage the vulnerability to elevate privileges, resulting in full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

Microsoft has published an advisory detailing the issue, and the vulnerability appears in CISA's catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities, confirming observed in-the-wild exploitation.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-2132

Vulnerability Data

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way the Update Notification Manager handles files.To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to gain execution on the victim system, aka 'Update Notification Manager Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

CWE(s): NVD-CWE-noinfo CWE-59
KEV Date Added: 23 May 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access

Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.

attack.mitre.org →

T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials Credential Access

Adversaries may attempt to access cached domain credentials used to allow authentication to occur in the event a domain controller is unavailable.

attack.mitre.org →

T1011 Exfiltration Over Other Network Medium Exfiltration

Adversaries may attempt to exfiltrate data over a different network medium than the command and control channel.

attack.mitre.org →

T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery Discovery

Adversaries may look for details about the network configuration and settings, such as IP and/or MAC addresses, of systems they access or through information discovery of remote systems.

attack.mitre.org →

T1020 Automated Exfiltration Exfiltration

Adversaries may exfiltrate data, such as sensitive documents, through the use of automated processing after being gathered during Collection.

attack.mitre.org →

T1021.003 Distributed Component Object Model Lateral Movement

Adversaries may use [Valid Accounts](https://attack.

attack.mitre.org →

Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

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CVE-2020-0787Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

CVE-2020-0683Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

CVE-2019-1385Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

CVE-2019-1130Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

CVE-2019-0841Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

CVE-2019-1315Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1709both on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft

windows 10 1709

all versions

microsoft

windows 10 1803

all versions

microsoft

windows 10 1809

all versions

microsoft

windows 10 1903

all versions

microsoft

windows 10 1909

all versions

microsoft

windows server 1803

all versions

microsoft

windows server 1903

all versions

microsoft

windows server 1909

all versions

microsoft

windows server 2019

all versions

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 partial match

blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.5.14 Information transfer partial match

removes

A.5.15 Access control partial match

removes

A.5.16 Identity management partial match

removes

A.5.17 Authentication information partial match

removes

A.5.18 Access rights partial match

removes

A.8.10 Information deletion partial match

removes