Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1 Remote Desktop Service denial of service

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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6.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as problematic has been reported in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the component Remote Desktop Service. The manipulation leads to denial of service. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2020-16863. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. To fix this issue, it is recommended to deploy a patch.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Operating System) and classified as problematic. This issue affects an unknown code of the component Remote Desktop Service. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a denial of service vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-404. The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

<p>A denial of service vulnerability exists in Windows Remote Desktop Service when an attacker connects to the target system using RDP and sends specially crafted requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause the Remote Desktop Service on the target system to stop responding.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to run a specially crafted application against a server which provides Remote Desktop Service.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Remote Desktop Service handles connection requests.</p>

The weakness was published 10/13/2020 as confirmed security guidance (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2020-16863. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK. The advisory points out:

A denial of service vulnerability exists in Windows Remote Desktop Service when an attacker connects to the target system using RDP and sends specially crafted requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause the Remote Desktop Service on the target system to stop responding. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to run a specially crafted application against a server which provides Remote Desktop Service. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Remote Desktop Service handles connection requests.

It is declared as proof-of-concept.

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

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

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Name

Version

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Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 6.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.6

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Vendor Base Score (Microsoft): 7.5
Vendor Vector (Microsoft): 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.5
NVD Vector: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 7.5
CNA Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Denial of service
CWE: CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Proof-of-Concept

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

08/04/2020 🔍
10/13/2020 +70 days 🔍
10/13/2020 +0 days 🔍
10/14/2020 +0 days 🔍
02/24/2026 +1959 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com
Product: microsoft.com

Advisory: portal.msrc.microsoft.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2020-16863 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2020-16863
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-162635
scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20140213

Entryinfo

Created: 10/14/2020 11:59
Updated: 02/24/2026 18:57
Changes: 10/14/2020 11:59 (34), 10/14/2020 12:03 (21), 11/18/2020 07:34 (5), 11/19/2020 15:36 (2), 11/19/2020 15:40 (14), 02/24/2026 18:57 (29)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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