CVE-2020-1078
HighCVSS 7.8Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Elevated risk53th percentile - higher than 53% of all known CVEs
Summary
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Installer due to the way it handles certain filesystem operations. An attacker with unprivileged execution could run arbitrary code with elevated privileges, allowing them to install programs, view/change/delete data, or create new accounts with full user rights.
Risk Assessment
The risk for the organization is potential full system compromise by a local attacker, which could lead to data theft, malware installation, and system integrity violation.
Recommendation
It is recommended to apply security updates for Windows Installer as soon as possible, which corrects the handling of filesystem operations.
Other vulnerabilities in Windows Installer
See all- CVE-2026-96308High
Use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-96307High
Use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-96305High
Use-after-free vulnerability in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-96302High
Use after free in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-88124High
Use after free in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-88080High
Use after free vulnerability in Windows Installer. An authorized attacker can elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-88076High
Null pointer dereference vulnerability in Windows Installer. An authorized attacker can elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-87715High
Use after free in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-87711High
Stack-based buffer overflow in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
- CVE-2026-87708High
Use after free in Windows Installer allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Original NVD description (English source)
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Installer because of the way Windows Installer handles certain filesystem operations. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would require unprivileged execution on the victim system. After successfully exploiting the vulnerability, an attacker could run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the way Windows Installer handles certain filesystem operations.
Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS