How severe is CVE-2020-0796?

CVE-2020-0796 has a CVSS score of 10/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2020-0796?

Affected package information for CVE-2020-0796 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2020-0796?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2020-0796 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2020-0796 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 102 known exploit references for CVE-2020-0796, including 4 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 50 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2020-0796?

CVE-2020-0796 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 94.4%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2020-0796 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2020-0796 (Microsoft SMBv3 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-02-10. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-08-10. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2020-0796?

CVE-2020-0796 is classified as Buffer Overflow (CWE-119). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2020-0796?

CVE-2020-0796 affects microsoft windows 10 1903; microsoft windows 10 1909; microsoft windows server 1903; microsoft windows server 1909. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2020-0796 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-0796 was published on March 12, 2020 and was last updated on October 29, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-02-10 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-08-10 · Ransomware

CVE-2020-0796

CRITICAL

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the Microsoft Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) protocol handles certain requests, aka 'Windows SMBv3 Client/Server Remote…

Published

Mar 12, 2020

Updated

Oct 29, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

102 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

94.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk100th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the Microsoft Server Message Block 3.1.1 (SMBv3) protocol handles certain requests, aka 'Windows SMBv3 Client/Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability'.

Affected Products

4 products · 8 configurations

windows 10 1903microsoft

all

windows 10 1909microsoft

all

windows server 1903microsoft

all

windows server 1909microsoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

102

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-48267localwindows

Microsoft Windows 10 (1903/1909) - 'SMBGhost' SMB3.1.1 'SMB2_COMPRESSION_CAPABILITIES' Local Privilege Escalation

by Daniel García Gutiérrez · Mar 30, 2020

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-48537remotewindows

Microsoft Windows - 'SMBGhost' Remote Code Execution

by chompie1337 · Jun 2, 2020

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-48216doswindows

Microsoft Windows 10 (1903/1909) - 'SMBGhost' SMB3.1.1 'SMB2_COMPRESSION_CAPABILITIES' Buffer Overflow (PoC)

by eerykitty · Mar 14, 2020

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2020-0796 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2020-0796 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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CVSS Score

10/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Network

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

None

S:Scope

Changed

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-119Buffer Overflow

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

Timeline

Disclosed

Mar 12, 2020

First exploit

Mar 30, 2020

KEV added

Feb 10, 2022

Last updated

Oct 29, 2025

Identifiers

CVE-2020-0796

References

Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Advisorypacketstormsecurity.com Fixportal.msrc.microsoft.com Fixportal.msrc.microsoft.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Exploit / PoCpacketstormsecurity.com Webcisa.gov

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