Microsoft Windows up to Server 2019 Media Foundation memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Microsoft Windows. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the component Media Foundation. The manipulation leads to memory corruption. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2020-1525. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows (Operating System) and classified as critical. This issue affects an unknown functionality of the component Media Foundation. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

A memory corruption vulnerability exists when Windows Media Foundation improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability, such as by convincing a user to open a specially crafted document, or by convincing a user to visit a malicious webpage. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Windows Media Foundation handles objects in memory.

The weakness was presented 08/11/2020 as confirmed security update guide (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The public release was coordinated in cooperation with Microsoft. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2020-1525. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. 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 02/24/2026). The advisory points out:

A memory corruption vulnerability exists when Windows Media Foundation improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

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

See VDB-159504, VDB-159502, VDB-159500 and VDB-159499 for similar entries. Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Windows

Version

• 10
• 10 1607
• 10 1709
• 10 1803
• 10 1809
• 10 1903
• 10 1909
• 10 2004
• Server 1903
• Server 1909
• Server 2004
• Server 2016
• Server 2019

License

• commercial

Website

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

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Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

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