Windows Setup Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

published 2020-08-17 6 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2020-12445

cvss: 7.8; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Not listed; not in CISA's catalog
epss: 1.1%; EPSS 1.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 65%
public exploits: 0; none known

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Setup in the way it handles permissions. A locally authenticated attacker could run arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. After successfully exploiting the vulnerability, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring Windows Setup properly handles permissions.

Patch / fix

links 1

portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1571 advisory

Exploit prediction

1.08% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 65% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CNA	3.1	7.3	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
CNA	3.1	7.3	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 2004
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1803
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems

Classification

Weakness

CWE-276 Incorrect Default Permissions

References

portal.msrc.microsoft.com /en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1571
patch, vendor-advisory

Sources

CVE List CVE-2020-1571
NVD CVE-2020-1571

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.

Summary