CVE-2020-16881

moderate-risk
Published 2020-09-11

<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when a user is tricked into opening a malicious 'package.json' file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to convince a target to clone a repository and open it in Visual Studio Code. Attacker-specified code would execute when the target opens the malicious 'package.json' file.</p> <p>The update address the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code handles JSON files.</p>

Do I need to act?

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17.0% chance of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS score — higher than 83% of all CVEs
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Not on CISA KEV list
No confirmed active exploitation reported to CISA
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Patch status unknown
Check vendor advisories for fix availability and mitigation guidance
7
CVSS 7.8/10 High
LOCAL / LOW complexity

Affected Products (1)

Affected Vendors

42
/ 100
moderate-risk
Severity 24/34 · High
Exploitability 13/34 · Low
Exposure 5/34 · Minimal