CVE-2020-16856

HIGH

Visual Studio 2017 15.0-15.7 and 2019 16.0-16.2 - Remote Code Execution via Crafted File

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Description

<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>

References (1)

Core 1
Core References

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0437
EPSS Percentile 90.3%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

Status published
Products (5)
microsoft/visual_studio 2012 update_5
microsoft/visual_studio 2013 update_5
microsoft/visual_studio 2015 update_3
microsoft/visual_studio_2017 15.0 - 15.8
microsoft/visual_studio_2019 16.0 - 16.3
Published Sep 11, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026