CVE-2020-16933
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Microsoft Word Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
rank 27 = 1 + 17 + 0 + 9 + 0
rank@v1 · scheduled
Someone is already using it
CISA KEV catalog · public proof-of-concept · FIRST EPSS
EPSS 0.02737 · without this subject the record ranks 26
What it costs you if it fires
NVD CVSS base score, then the CNA's own
CVSS 6.8, from NVD · without this subject the record ranks 10
It is getting worse, not staying still
FIRST EPSS series, rescorings and bad loads removed
no persisting rise in 365 days · without this subject the record ranks 27
How much of the world it touches
NVD CPE configurations
17 products in the CPE ranges · without this subject the record ranks 18
Someone else already set the date
CISA KEV remediation due date
no CISA due date · without this subject the record ranks 27
$137,000 = $4.99M incident cost x 1 exposure x 0.02737 likelihood
udv@v1 · unaudited · wrong for you until you say what you run
$4.99M is the cost of a breach that happened, from IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026, global average. It is not the value of any asset of yours. That average already covers breaches of every severity, so scaling it by exposure understates a partial-impact record. That is an assumption, not a measurement. Your own asset value goes in the decision record.
Hindsight · the state
Foresight · where to check next
No weakness class or product neighbourhood is held for this record, so this index cannot name anywhere to check next. That is an absence in the record, not a finding about the software.
Sources disagree here.
Both shown, dated. We don't pick winners. disagreement-rules@v1
Running Microsoft Office 2019? Check your version
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Harm, if it fires from the vector and the weakness
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CISA KEV & Federal Remediation Deadline from the record and CISA
The fix, and how long it's been waiting.
Exploit Status & Known PoCs a ladder, not a score
Current rung: Nothing observed in held sources.
- RUNG 1Nothing observed in held sources
- RUNG 2Proof-of-concept published
- RUNG 3Exploited in the wild · CISA KEV listed
- RUNG 4Ransomware campaign use known
Affected & Fixed Versions as published
Show all 17 published ranges
A rung lights from a row in the index, never from an assessment. "Held sources" is the true scope of the claim: this index reads the CVE record, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST's EPSS and public proof-of-concept repositories, and it does not observe attacks.
What it is stated by the CNA
<p>A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in Microsoft Word software when it fails to properly handle .LNK files. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could use a specially crafted file to perform actions in the security context of the current user. For example, the file could then take actions on behalf of the logged-on user with the same permissions as the current user.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, a user must open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Microsoft Word software. In an email attack scenario, an attacker could exploit the vulnerability by sending the specially crafted file to the user and convincing the user to open the file. receipt
Read the rest of the CNA's description
In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a website (or leverage a compromised website that accepts or hosts user-provided content) that contains a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. However, an attacker would have no way to force the user to visit the website. Instead, an attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message, and then convince the user to open the specially crafted file.</p> <p>The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Word handles these files.</p>
NVD's analysis a second authority
- severity
- 6.8 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
- affected versions
- microsoft windows 10 1607; microsoft windows 10 1709; microsoft windows 10 1803; and 14 more, listed in full below
- also scored by
- [email protected] 7 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H · [email protected] 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
The CNA scored it 7 and NVD 6.8. Both are shown because both were published; we do not pick one.
check it yourself portal.msrc.microsoft.com receipt
Dated events
Movement the material steps
This score more than doubled inside 72 hours. Both observations are in the full history below.
Show all 36 observations
36 observations held. A highlighted step crossed a promotion threshold. A step marked with a scoring model moved because the instrument was replaced, not because the vulnerability changed. receipt
The full biography
Exploit probability more than doubled between 2025-03-28 and 2025-03-29 (0.02093 → 0.06208) and the record had been public for 5 years, 8 months when this index was last written.
Siblings and hubs
Records related to this one
No record cites this identifier and it carries no alias. Its defect family is below.
Its defect family
microsoft office
Grouped by shared product and weakness, not by shared vulnerability. Each record's own state is on its own page.
Family membership: computed, pro@dim2000
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What usually comes next
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