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Fencer Vulns
high 7.8

CVE-2020-1048 in the critical feed json

Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

published 2020-05-21 6 y ago modified 2026-08-19 2 mo ago also EUVD-2020-11941

cvss
7.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
16.5%
EPSS 16.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 97%
public exploits
1
Metasploit

Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Print Spooler service improperly allows arbitrary writing to the file system. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would have to log on to an affected system and run a specially crafted script or application. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows Print Spooler Component writes to the file system.

Patch / fix

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/windows/local/cve_2020_1048_printerdemon)
  2. Published

Exploit prediction

16.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
NVD 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA 3.1 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 7.2 AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1803
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
  • Microsoft Windows 7
  • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation)
  • Microsoft Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-669 Incorrect Resource Transfer Between Spheres

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.