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No exploitation reportedFix available

CVE-2020-16933

No exploitation reported by the sources we read.

  • Published2020-10-16

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

<p>A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle .LNK files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles these files.</p>

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2020-10-1623:15CVE publishedNVD

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 21:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-16933?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2020-16933?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Microsoft windows 10
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published
1607.x= 1607no fix published
1709.x= 1709no fix published
1803.x= 1803no fix published
1809.x= 1809no fix published
1903.x= 1903no fix published
1909.x= 1909no fix published
2004.x= 2004no fix published
Microsoft windows server 2016
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published
1903.x= 1903no fix published
1909.x= 1909no fix published
2004.x= 2004no fix published
Microsoft word
BranchAffectedFixed in
2010.x= 2010no fix published
2013.x= 2013no fix published
2016.x= 2016no fix published

8 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
none listed
PoC-in-GitHub

Sources

  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionnone2024-01-10
  • OpenCVESSVC decisionnone—
  • CNACVSS 3.17read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 3.18.8read 2026-10-23
  • NVDCVSS 2.06.8read 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score2.7 %2026-10-22

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2020-10-16
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Modified

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-16933?

<p>A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle .LNK files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles these files.</p>

Is CVE-2020-16933 actively exploited?

Active exploitation of CVE-2020-16933 has not been confirmed. Its EPSS score was 2.7% on 2026-10-22, the estimated probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-16933?

CVE-2020-16933 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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