Advisory Details

October 19th, 2020

Microsoft Windows User Profile Service Arbitrary File Deletion Vulnerability

CVE ID	CVE-2020-16940
CVSS SCORE	5.5, AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
AFFECTED VENDORS	Microsoft
AFFECTED PRODUCTS	Windows
VULNERABILITY DETAILS	This vulnerability allows local attackers to delete arbitrary files on affected installations of Microsoft Windows. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within handling of the local registry hive by the User Profile service. By creating a junction, an attacker can abuse the service to delete files in an incorrect location. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to delete files in the context of SYSTEM.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS	Microsoft has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16940
DISCLOSURE TIMELINE	2020-07-01 - Vulnerability reported to vendor 2020-10-19 - Coordinated public release of advisory
CREDIT	Abdelhamid Naceri

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