Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2020-0787
CVE-2020-0787
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Windows vulnerability
Microsoft Windows BITS improperly handles symbolic links, allowing privilege escalation to system level. Exploited in ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
A local privilege escalation in Windows BITS via symbolic link mishandling enables attackers to execute arbitrary code with system privileges. Active exploitation in ransomware operations confirms real-world threat.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-01-284Ransomware use Flagged4EPSS 0.42524 (verify live)5Exploit Public PoC6CVSS 7.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
15 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-01-28), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.42524 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Microsoft, Windows. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management, CWE-59 Link Following — weakness family: Authorization / access control, Path traversal / file.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 687 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
WeaknessCWE-269 · Improper Privilege ManagementCWE-59 · Link FollowingAuthorization / access control, Path traversal / file
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I gain initial access to a Windows system through phishing, weak credentials, or another entry point.
Business
An attacker establishes a foothold on corporate infrastructure with user-level permissions.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I craft a malicious symbolic link that BITS will follow during file operations.
Business
The organization's file handling processes become a vector for privilege escalation.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I trigger BITS to process the symbolic link, causing it to execute my code with system privileges.
Business
The attacker gains unrestricted control over the affected system.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I deploy ransomware or other malicious payloads with full system access.
Business
Critical systems are compromised, leading to data encryption, operational shutdown, and extortion demands.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05