CVE-2020-1472
MEDIUMCISA KEVEPSS 100th pctlDescription
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when an attacker establishes a vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connection to a domain controller, using the Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC). An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run a specially crafted application on a device on the network. To exploit the vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker would be required to use MS-NRPC to connect to a domain controller to obtain domain administrator access. Microsoft is addressing the vulnerability in a phased two-part rollout. These updates address the vulnerability by modifying how Netlogon handles the usage of Netlogon secure channels. For guidelines on how to manage the changes required for this vulnerability and more information on the phased rollout, see How to manage the changes in Netlogon secure channel connections associated with CVE-2020-1472 (updated September 28, 2020). When the second phase of Windows updates become available in Q1 2021, customers will be notified via a revision to this security vulnerability. If you wish to be notified when these updates are released, we recommend that you register for the security notifications mailer to be alerted of content changes to this advisory. See Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.
Microsoft Netlogon Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Microsoft's Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC) contains a privilege escalation vulnerability when an attacker establishes a vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connection to a domain controller. An attacker who successfully exploits the vulnerability could run a specially crafted application on a device on the network. The vulnerability is also known under the moniker of Zerologon.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-05-03
Associated with ransomware campaigns
References
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00080.html
- http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2020-09/msg00086.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/159190/Zerologon-Proof-Of-Concept.html
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/160127/Zerologon-Netlogon-Privilege-Escalation.html
- http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/09/17/2
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/11/msg00041.html
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/H4OTFBL6YDVFH2TBJFJIE4FMHPJEEJK3/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/ST6X3A2XXYMGD4INR26DQ4FP4QSM753B/
- https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/TAPQQZZAT4TG3XVRTAFV2Y3S7OAHFBUP/
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1472
- https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202012-24
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4510-1/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4510-2/
- https://usn.ubuntu.com/4559-1/
- https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/490028
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpuApr2021.html
- https://www.synology.com/security/advisory/Synology_SA_20_21
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-1472
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Start freeThis product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-02-23.