Microsoft Windows up to Server 2019 Registry privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows. It has been classified as critical. This affects an unknown part of the component Registry. This manipulation causes privileges management. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2020-1378. The attack needs to be launched locally. No exploit is available. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Microsoft Windows (Operating System). Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown code block of the component Registry. 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 when the Windows Kernel API improperly handles registry objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain elevated privileges on a targeted system. A locally authenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by running a specially crafted application. The security update addresses the vulnerability by helping to ensure that the Windows Kernel API properly handles objects in memory.

The weakness was published 08/11/2020 as confirmed security update guide (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The public release has been coordinated with Microsoft. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2020-1378. Attacking locally is a requirement. The requirement for exploitation is 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 02/23/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK. The advisory points out:

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Kernel API improperly handles registry objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain elevated privileges on a targeted system.

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

Similar entries are available at VDB-159539, VDB-159537, VDB-159536 and VDB-159534. Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source 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
• 10 2004
• RT 8.1
• Server 1903
• Server 1909
• Server 2004
• Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Server 2008 SP2
• Server 2012
• Server 2012 R2
• Server 2016
• Server 2019

License

• commercial

Website

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

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