CVE-2020-16856 HIGH

CVE-2020-16856: Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor Microsoft
Product Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 (includes 16.0 – 16.6)
Published September 11, 2020
Last update August 4, 2024

CVSS base score

7.8/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction Required
Confidentiality High
Integrity High

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

What the vulnerability does

01Description

<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to convince a user to open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Visual Studio.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Visual Studio handles objects in memory.</p>

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

September 11, 2020 CVE published
August 4, 2024 Record updated