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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 13 Jun 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2020-1027

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-15
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 in the way that the Windows Kernel handles objects in memory, aka 'Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2020-0913, CVE-2020-1000, CVE-2020-1003.

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-2020-1027 is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Kernel stemming from improper handling of objects in memory. An attacker with local access could exploit this to gain higher privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-1027 via Windows Update or deployment of the relevant KB patch to all affected Windows systems.

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 7Operating 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. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo' from command prompt to determine the exact Windows edition and version number
    Affected if The system runs Windows 10 1507, 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909, or Windows 7 (any version)
  2. Confirm build number
    Run 'winver' or check System Properties to see the build number (e.g., 1507, 1607, 1709, 1803, 1809, 1903, 1909)
    Affected if The build number matches one of the affected version ranges listed in the CVE
  3. Check for security update
    Open Windows Update history or run 'systeminfo' to view installed hotfixes. Look for the Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-1027
    Affected if The system is missing the specific security update for CVE-2020-1027 and runs an affected version
  4. Verify local access exists
    This is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability - confirm the attack scenario requires an attacker with existing local access to the system
    Affected if An unprivileged local user account exists on the system that could be leveraged to exploit this kernel vulnerability

A system is affected if it runs any version of Windows 7 or Windows 10 (1507 through 1909) and lacks the Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-1027.

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-2020-1027 via Windows Update or deployment of the relevant KB patch to all affected Windows systems.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Windows 10 2004 or later (or current supported Windows 11/10 release); for Windows 7 systems, upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11

  1. Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2020-1027. For Windows 10 versions 1809 and later, install the April 2020 Security Update (KB4550945 or subsequent monthly rollups). For Windows 7, note that official support ended in January 2020; apply any available extended security updates if you have Extended Security Update (ESU) licensing, otherwise upgrade to a supported Windows version.
  2. Verify the patch was applied successfully by checking Windows Update history or using the System Information tool to confirm the installed security update.
  3. Restart the system as required to complete the patch installation.
  4. Validate that the vulnerability is remediated by confirming the kernel version includes the April 2020 security fixes.
Caveat Windows 7 has no further security patches as support ended January 2020 - upgrade required; ensure application compatibility testing before patching production systems

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

Free · runs locally
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-2020-1027 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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