CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-1502 — An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Microsoft Word improperly discloses the contents of its memory

Medium CVSS 5.5

An information disclosure vulnerability exists when Microsoft Word improperly discloses the contents of its memory. An attacker who exploited the vulnerability could use the information to compromise the user’s computer or data. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could craft a special document file and then convince the user to open it. An attacker must know the memory address location where the object was created. The update addresses the vulnerability by changing the way certain Word functions handle objects in memory.

Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.5 (3.1)
Published
2020-08-17
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system

Affected products

  • microsoft / 365_apps
  • microsoft / office / 2019
  • microsoft / office_online_server
  • microsoft / sharepoint_server / 2019

Matched remediation archetype

Information disclosure and sensitive data exposure

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

Check exposure

  • Trace sensitive data through responses, errors, logs, metrics, traces, caches, exports, files, backups, and client bundles.
  • Identify affected subjects, tenants, retention windows, access controls, and downstream copies without opening unnecessary sensitive records.
  • Review metadata, timing, status, length, and existence signals as well as direct content disclosure.

Remediate safely

  • Minimize collection and output, apply field-level authorization and redaction at a centralized boundary, and return generic external errors.
  • Remove secrets and sensitive data from logs, artifacts, URLs, caches, and client-side bundles; rotate credentials that may have been exposed.
  • Update the affected component and add synthetic-data tests for response, error, observability, and export 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.