Vulnerability in Microsoft Python Extension For Visual Studio Code

CVE-2020-16977

<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when the Python extension loads a Jupyter notebook file. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.</p> <p>To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to convince a target to open a specially crafted file in Visual Studio Code with the Python extension installed.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code Python extension renders notebook content.</p>

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.034 (88.2th percentile), scored .

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 88th percentile — 88.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2020-16977: held from 0.034 to 0.034.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.034 · newest: 0.034 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-16977?
CVE-2020-16977 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Python Extension For Visual Studio Code. CVSS score: 7.0/10. Published 2020-10-16.
How severe is CVE-2020-16977?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.0 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-16977 known to be exploited?
2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.