Vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code
CVE-2020-17023
<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when a user is tricked into opening a malicious 'package.json' 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 clone a repository and open it in Visual Studio Code. Attacker-specified code would execute when the target opens the malicious 'package.json' file.</p> <p>The update address the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code handles JSON files.</p>
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.046 (91.4th percentile), scored .
Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 91st percentile — 91.4% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.046 · newest: 0.046 · change: 0.000
Affected products
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code — versions 1.0.0
- Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-17023 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2020-17023?
- CVE-2020-17023 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2020-10-16.
- How severe is CVE-2020-17023?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2020-17023 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.