CVE-2020-0968
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the scripting engine handles objects in memory in Internet Explorer, aka 'Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-0970.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis is a memory corruption vulnerability in Internet Explorer's scripting engine that handles objects in memory incorrectly, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted web content. The vulnerability stems from improper memory handling when the scripting engine processes objects, which can lead to memory corruption and potential code execution. This affects Internet Explorer across multiple Windows versions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 11= 9CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Internet Explorer is installedLocate iexplore.exe in C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\, or run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer" /v Version' in Command PromptAffected if Internet Explorer is found on the system
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Determine the installed Internet Explorer versionOpen Internet Explorer, click the gear icon, select About Internet Explorer, or run the reg query command above and note the Version valueAffected if Version is 9 or 11 (these are the affected versions per CVE-2020-0968)
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Verify if scripting engines are enabledOpen Internet Options in IE, go to Security tab, select each zone (Internet, Intranet, Trusted Sites, Restricted Sites), click Custom Level, and check 'Script ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting' and 'Scripting > Active scripting' settingsAffected if Active scripting or ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting are enabled in any security zone
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Confirm IE has network accessCheck if IE can connect to websites or review firewall/network policies allowing IE outbound connectionsAffected if IE can access the internet or untrusted network locations
The system is affected if Internet Explorer version 9 or 11 is installed, VBScript/JScript execution is enabled, and the browser can access network content, allowing specially crafted scripts to trigger the memory corruption.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the Microsoft security update (April 2020 Patch Tuesday) to resolve the scripting engine memory corruption. Until patched, restrict or disable VBScript/JScript execution in Internet Explorer and avoid untrusted websites.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-0968 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0968 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data