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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2020-0986

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-06-09
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka 'Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-1237, CVE-2020-1246, CVE-2020-1262, CVE-2020-1264, CVE-2020-1266, CVE-2020-1269, CVE-2020-1273, CVE-2020-1274, CVE-2020-1275, CVE-2020-1276, CVE-2020-1307, CVE-2020-1316.

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 confidence

CVE-2020-0986 is a Windows Kernel elevation of privilege vulnerability where the kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory. This allows a local authenticated attacker to potentially execute code with elevated (kernel-level) privileges by exploiting the improper object handling in the Windows kernel.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-0986 (KB4550936 or subsequent relevant security bulletin) to patch the Windows kernel. Prioritize patching domain controllers and systems with exposed attack surfaces.

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
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1709Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1803Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1903Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1909Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 2004Operating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine your Windows 10 version
    Run 'winver' from the Start menu or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt
    Affected if The displayed version matches any of these: 1507, 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, or 2004
  2. Identify the Windows 10 build number
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo' and note the build number (for example, 18362 for 1903)
    Affected if The build number falls within the range corresponding to an affected Windows 10 release (1507 through 2004)
  3. Verify if the CVE-2020-0986 security update is installed
    Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'wmic qfe list' in Command Prompt to list installed hotfixes
    Affected if The security update (KB4551762) is NOT listed in the installed updates

You are affected if you are running any Windows 10 version from 1507 through 2004 and the specific CVE-2020-0986 security update (KB4551762) has not been installed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch portal.msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-0986 (KB4550936 or subsequent relevant security bulletin) to patch the Windows kernel. Prioritize patching domain controllers and systems with exposed attack surfaces.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Windows 10 version 2004 with May 2020 Security Updates or later; for older versions, install the respective May 2020 or later cumulative security update (e.g., KB4556799 for Windows 10 2004, KB4557968 for Windows 10 1909, KB4559003 for Windows 10 1903, etc.)

  1. 1. Open Settings on the Windows 10 system
  2. 2. Navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. 3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install all available security updates
  4. 4. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation
  5. 5. Verify the update was installed by checking the update history or running 'winver' to confirm the OS version
Caveat None expected; this is a routine security update. Ensure backups exist before major updates.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0986 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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