How severe is CVE-2020-17159?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2020-17159 known to be exploited?

1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code Language Support For Java Extension

CVE-2020-17159

Visual Studio Code Java Extension Pack Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Published 2020-12-10 · last modified 2026-06-17.

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: 0.033 (88.3th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 88th percentile — 88.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.031 · newest: 0.033 · change: +0.002

Affected products

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Language Support For Java Extension — versions 0.1.0
Red Hat Language Support For Java

Public proof-of-concept exploits

ARPSyndicate/cve-scores

References

msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2020-17159 (vendor-advisory, patch)
af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 (Patch, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-17159?: CVE-2020-17159 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Studio Code Language Support For Java Extension. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2020-12-10.
How severe is CVE-2020-17159?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2020-17159 known to be exploited?: 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.