Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 Start-Up Application privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Internet Explorer 11. It has been classified as critical. Impacted is an unknown function of the component Start-Up Application. Performing a manipulation results in privileges management. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2020-1506. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. It is recommended to apply a patch to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 (Web Browser). It has been classified as critical. This affects an unknown code block of the component Start-Up Application. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as 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. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

<p>An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.</p> <p>There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:</p> <ul> <li><p>In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.</p> </li> <li><p>In a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.</p> </li> </ul> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.</p>

The weakness was published 09/08/2020 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 uniquely identified as CVE-2020-1506. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for 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). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product decreasing in the near future.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 Wininit.dll 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.

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Productinfo

Type

• Web Browser

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Internet Explorer

Version

• 11

License

• commercial

Support

• end of life

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

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