Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2020-1464
CVE-2020-1464
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Windows vulnerability
Microsoft Windows contains a spoofing vulnerability in file signature validation, allowing attackers to bypass security features and load improperly signed files.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
This signature validation bypass enables code execution and security feature circumvention. The vulnerability has been exploited in the wild, though not as part of ransomware campaigns. Exploitation requires local or network access to place malicious files.
CISA KEV Yes · 2021-11-035EPSS 0.41131 (verify live)6CVSS 7.83CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
4 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 2021-11-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.41131 — 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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C) · Affected: Microsoft, Windows. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-347 CWE-347 — weakness family: Cryptography.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 443 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.
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 craft a malicious file and bypass Windows signature validation checks to make it appear legitimate.
Business
Attackers gain ability to execute unauthorized code and disable security protections, increasing breach risk.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I load improperly signed executables that Windows fails to reject due to the validation flaw.
Business
Malware and unauthorized software can execute with system privileges, compromising endpoint integrity.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I exploit this to bypass code signing requirements and security policy enforcement mechanisms.
Business
Organizations lose control over which software runs on Windows systems, enabling lateral movement and persistence.
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