CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-0790 — <p>A local elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in how splwow64.exe handles certain calls

High CVSS 7.8

<p>A local elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in how splwow64.exe handles certain calls. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could elevate privileges on an affected system from low-integrity to medium-integrity.</p> <p>This vulnerability by itself does not allow arbitrary code execution; however, it could allow arbitrary code to be run if the attacker uses it in combination with another vulnerability (such as a remote code execution vulnerability or another elevation of privilege vulnerability) that is capable of leveraging the elevated privileges when code execution is attempted.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring splwow64.exe properly handles these calls..</p>

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2020-09-11
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system

Affected products

  • microsoft / windows_10
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1607
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1709
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1803
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1809
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1903

Showing 6 representative product identities from 24 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Command, code, expression, and template injection

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted values to process execution, interpreters, evaluators, template engines, dynamic imports, and administrative scripting features.
  • Determine whether the affected path is reachable across each trust boundary and which service account or host privilege it inherits.
  • Review configuration for optional execution features, unsafe compatibility modes, and shell invocation.

Remediate safely

  • Replace string-built commands or evaluated code with fixed operations and structured argument APIs that do not invoke a shell.
  • Use strict allowlists for operation identifiers and reject unexpected input before it reaches any interpreter.
  • Update the affected component and add inert regression tests covering metacharacters, encoding variants, and alternate request paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.