{"id":"CVE-2020-16940","aliases":["EUVD-2020-8898","GHSA-386j-h4xj-j5ph"],"status":"published","title":"Windows - User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles junction points.\u003c/p\u003e","severity":{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"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","level":"high","assessor":"cna","from":"cve"},"epss":{"day":"2026-11-10","score":0.01553,"percentile":0.75341,"model":"v2026.06.15"},"facts":{"in_kev":false,"known_exploited":false,"public_exploit":false,"fix_available":false},"cwes":["CWE-269"],"published":"2020-10-16T22:17:57Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:58:19Z","products":[{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1507"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1607"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1709"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1709 for 32-bit systems"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1803"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1809"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1903 for 32-bit systems"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1903 for arm64-based systems"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1903 for x64-based systems"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 1909"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 10 version 2004"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 7"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 7 service pack 1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows 8.1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008  service pack 2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 service pack 2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2008 service pack 2 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 r2"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2012 r2 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2016"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2016 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2019"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server 2019 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server version 2004"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server, version 1903 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows server, version 1909 (server core installation)"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_10"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_7"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_8.1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_rt_8.1"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2008"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2012"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2016"},{"vendor":"microsoft","product":"windows_server_2019"}],"references":[{"url":"https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16940","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1248/","tags":["x_refsource_MISC","x_transferred","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-16940"},{"url":"https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-20-1248"},{"url":"https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-386j-h4xj-j5ph"}],"sources":{"cve":[{"id":"CVE-2020-16940","title":"Windows - User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles junction points.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-10-16T22:17:57Z","modified":"2024-08-04T13:45:34.556Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"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","level":"high","assessor":"cna"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:35:59.116379Z"}],"euvd":[{"id":"EUVD-2020-8898","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles junction points.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-10-16T22:17:57Z","modified":"2024-08-04T13:45:34Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"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","level":"high"}],"updated_at":"2026-11-03T03:07:28.222143Z"}],"ghsa":[{"id":"GHSA-386j-h4xj-j5ph","title":"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc)...","description":"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points, aka 'Windows - User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.","status":"published","published":"2022-05-24T17:31:00Z","modified":"2026-02-23T18:31:59Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high"}],"cwes":["CWE-269"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T15:06:19.778226Z"}],"nvd":[{"id":"CVE-2020-16940","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles junction points. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles junction points.\u003c/p\u003e","status":"published","published":"2020-10-16T23:15:15.71Z","modified":"2026-06-17T02:58:19.13Z","cvss":[{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","level":"high","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"3.1","score":5.5,"vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H","level":"medium","assessor":"secondary"},{"version":"2.0","score":4.9,"vector":"AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C","level":"medium","assessor":"primary"}],"cwes":["CWE-269"],"updated_at":"2026-11-02T14:06:19.351389Z"}]}}