CVE-2020-16863 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2020-16863
Vulnerability Scoring

7.5
/10
Very High Risk

Highly exploitable, CVE-2020-16863 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2020-16863 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕗 31 Dec 2023, 20:15 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 16 Oct 2020, 23:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 1170 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

secure@microsoft.com

CVSS3 Type

Primary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVE-2020-16863 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2020-16863: <p>A denial of service vulnerability exists in Windows Remote Desktop Service when an attacker connects to the target system using RDP and sends specially crafted requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could cause the Remote Desktop Service on the target system to stop responding.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to run a specially crafted application against a server which provides Remote Desktop Service.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Remote Desktop Service handles connection requests.</p>

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2020-16863

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2020-16863 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2020-16863

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2020-16863 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2020-16863, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2020-16863, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2020-16863 has no significant impact on data confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2020-16863 poses no threat to data integrity.
  • Availability: High
    CVE-2020-16863 can disrupt system operations, potentially causing complete denial of service (DoS).

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.244% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 64.38% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 35.620000000000005% of others.

CVE-2020-16863 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

NVD-CWE-noinfo

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2020-16863: Combat Critical CVE Threats

Stay updated with real-time CVE vulnerabilities and take action to secure your systems. Enhance your cybersecurity posture with the latest threat intelligence and mitigation techniques. Develop the skills necessary to defend against CVEs and secure critical infrastructures. Join the top cybersecurity professionals safeguarding today's infrastructures.

Other 5 Recently Published CVEs Vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2025-3284 – The User Registration & Membership – Custom Registration Form, Login Form, and User Profile plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Reques...
  • CVE-2025-3278 – The UrbanGo Membership plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 1.0.4. This is due to the plugi...
  • CVE-2025-2010 – The JobWP – Job Board, Job Listing, Career Page and Recruitment Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to SQL Injection via the 'jobwp_upload_re...
  • CVE-2025-43903 – NSSCryptoSignBackend.cc in Poppler before 25.04.0 does not verify the adbe.pkcs7.sha1 signatures on documents, resulting in potential signature forgeries.
  • CVE-2025-3796 – A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in PHPGurukul Men Salon Management System 1.0. This affects an unknown part of the file /admi...