CVE-2020-16933

Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2020-16933 is fixed in 7 products on 1 platform, first by KB4486703, released October 13, 2020. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

High
CVSS
7.0
Important
Exploitation
None reported
Exploitation Less Likely
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0274
86th percentile

<p>A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle .LNK files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles these files.</p>

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Microsoft
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions) KB4486703 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions) KB4486701 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions) KB4486703 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions) KB4486701 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2013 RT Service Pack 1 KB4486692 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions) KB4486692 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions) KB4486692 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit edition) KB4486679 Oct 13, 2020
Microsoft Word 2016 (64-bit edition) KB4486679 Oct 13, 2020

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