CVE-2020-0646
Microsoft .Net Framework 3.0 … 4.8
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2020-0646 is a critical-severity aka Blind XPath Injection (CWE-91) vulnerability in Microsoft .Net Framework. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Security Account Manager (T1003.002); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the Microsoft .NET Framework when it fails to properly validate input, tracked as CVE-2020-0646 with a CVSS score of 9.8. The flaw is also referenced in connection with SharePoint workflows via XOML injection and is assigned CWE-91 for XML injection issues.
The vulnerability can be exploited remotely by an unauthenticated attacker over the network without user interaction, enabling full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on affected systems.
Microsoft security advisories at portal.msrc.microsoft.com address the issue and provide patch guidance, while CISA lists the CVE in its known exploited vulnerabilities catalog.
Public exploit references, including PacketStorm disclosures on SharePoint workflow injection, confirm active interest and real-world exploitation potential.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-2140
Vulnerability Data
A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Microsoft .NET Framework fails to validate input properly, aka '.NET Framework Remote Code Execution Injection Vulnerability'.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 November 2021
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
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.
Secure SDLC directly requires input neutralization and validation that eliminates XML injection flaws.
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.
Logging can record injection attempts for detection but does not prevent the weakness.
Monitoring can detect exploitation but provides no preventive control over XML handling.
A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices (secure coding guidelines, security requirements, checkpoints, testing including code scans) that reach XML injection when developers follow them, but leaves a minority slice where implementation is incomplete or the outsourced supplier assurance fails.
A.8.26 requires identifying and specifying security requirements (including resilience against SQL injections and input validation) determined via risk assessment; this can address XML injection for some applications but leaves a bounded remainder where requirements are scoped narrowly, not fully enforced in code, or miss XML-specific neutralization.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles, secure architecture patterns (defense-in-depth, least privilege, distrust external input, fail securely), design reviews against known attack patterns, and data validation/sanitization guidance that reach a slice of XML injection cases, but leaves the dominant code-level neutralization defect untouched without further implementation-specific controls.