Cyber Resilience

CVE-2020-0796

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 10 1903

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedMemory Safety
Published
12 March 2020
Modified
12 August 2026
KEV Added
10 February 2022
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 10.0
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 100 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2020-0796 is a critical-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1903. Its CVSS base score is 10.0 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Process Injection (T1055); ranked in the top 0.0% 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 way that the Microsoft Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) protocol handles certain requests. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2020-0796 and also known as the Windows SMBv3 Client/Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, affects the SMBv3 client and server components on Windows systems and carries a CVSS score of 10.0 with a buffer overflow weakness (CWE-119).

Remote attackers can exploit the issue over the network without authentication or user interaction to execute arbitrary code with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, including across security boundaries. Public proof-of-concept code has been released demonstrating remote code execution and local privilege escalation against Windows 10 systems running SMB 3.1.1.

The listed references consist entirely of exploit artifacts and proof-of-concept implementations, including CoronaBlue-SMBGhost and multiple buffer-overflow variants, confirming that working attack code is publicly available. No official patch or mitigation details appear in the provided references.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the Microsoft Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) protocol handles certain requests, aka 'Windows SMBv3 Client/Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability'.

CWE(s)
CWE-119
KEV Date Added
10 February 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1055 Process Injection Stealth
Adversaries may inject code into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2019-1214Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1903both on KEV
CVE-2021-31979Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1909both on KEV
CVE-2016-7193Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11826Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-0101Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2015-2546Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11882Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2014-6332Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2017-11774Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV
CVE-2013-3660Same vendor: Microsoftboth on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1903
all versions
microsoft
windows 10 1909
all versions
microsoft
windows server 1903
all versions
microsoft
windows server 1909
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

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Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

SA-11 Developer Testing and Evaluation
addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

SC-27 Platform-independent Applications
addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

SI-16 Memory Protection
addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

SI-4 System Monitoring
addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

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 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

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.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References