{"id":"CVE-2020-1012","aliases":["EUVD-2020-11908","GHSA-pqr6-x3hm-vw74"],"status":"published","title":"WinINet API Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.\u003c/p\u003e","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-07","score":0.03741,"percentile":0.89918,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":false},"cwes":["CWE-269"],"published":"2020-09-11T17:08:50Z","modified":"2026-06-17T03:00:13Z","products":[{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"internet explorer 11"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"internet_explorer"}],"references":[{"url":"https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1012","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-1012"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-pqr6-x3hm-vw74"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2020-1012","title":"WinINet API Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-09-11T17:08:50Z","modified":"2024-08-04T06:24:59.552Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C","level":"high","assessor":"cna"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:56.638833Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2020-11908","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-09-11T17:08:50Z","modified":"2024-08-04T06:24:59Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:08:15.605178Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-pqr6-x3hm-vw74","title":"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in...","description":"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory, aka 'WinINet API Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.","status":"published","published":"2022-05-24T17:27:56Z","modified":"2024-01-01T00:30:41Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-269"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:55:19.223338Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2020-1012","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-09-11T17:15:17.807Z","modified":"2026-06-17T03:00:13.057Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"3.1","score":8.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"2.0","score":6.8,"vector":"AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:06:14.981587Z"}]}}