Microsoft Windows up to Server 2019 Windows Search Indexer privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows. It has been rated as critical. The affected element is an unknown function of the component Windows Search Indexer. This manipulation causes privileges management. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2020-0735. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. To fix this issue, it is recommended to deploy a patch.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows (Operating System). It has been declared as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown function of the component Windows Search Indexer. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Search Indexer handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Search Indexer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-0666, CVE-2020-0667, CVE-2020-0752.

The weakness was disclosed 02/11/2020 as confirmed security update guide (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The public release has been coordinated in cooperation with Microsoft. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2020-0735. The attack can be launched remotely. The successful exploitation requires a single authentication. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/11/2020). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK. The advisory points out:

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows Search Indexer handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The entries VDB-149951, VDB-149950, VDB-149949 and VDB-149948 are pretty similar. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Windows

Version

• 7 SP1
• 8.1
• 10
• 10 1607
• 10 1709
• 10 1803
• 10 1809
• 10 1903
• 10 1909
• RT 8.1
• Server 1803
• Server 1903
• Server 1909
• Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Server 2008 SP2
• Server 2012
• Server 2016
• Server 2019

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/
• Product: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows

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