How severe is CVE-2020-1054?

CVE-2020-1054 has a CVSS score of 7/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2020-1054?

CVE-2020-1054 affects the following products: microsoft windows 7, microsoft windows 8.1, microsoft windows 10 1507, microsoft windows 10 1607, microsoft windows 10 1709, microsoft windows 10 1803, microsoft windows 10 1809, microsoft windows 10 1903, and 9 more.

How do I patch CVE-2020-1054?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2020-1054 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2020-1054 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2020-1054 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2020-1054 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 9 known exploit references for CVE-2020-1054, including 6 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-2020-1054?

CVE-2020-1054 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 53.9%, placing it in the 99th 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-2020-1054 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2020-1054 (Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-05-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. 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-2020-1054?

CVE-2020-1054 is classified as Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2020-1054?

CVE-2020-1054 affects microsoft windows 7; microsoft windows 8.1; microsoft windows 10 1507; microsoft windows 10 1607, and 13 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2020-1054?

4 Metasploit modules reference CVE-2020-1054, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2020-1054 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2020-1054 was published on May 21, 2020 and was last updated on October 8, 2026. 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 · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2020-1054 — Windows 7

HIGH

CVE-2020-1054 is a high-severity (CVSS 7) Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability in microsoft windows 7. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Windows kernel-mode driver fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this…

Published

May 21, 2020

Updated

Oct 8, 2026

Affected

17 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

9 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2020-1054.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

53.9%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

High Risk-0.28%

Lower risk than most CVEs99th percentile — riskier than 99% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2020-1054 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Windows kernel-mode driver fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of an affected system. The update addresses this vulnerability by correcting how the Windows kernel-mode driver handles objects in memory.

Affected Products

17 products · 32 configurations

windows 7microsoft

all

windows 8.1microsoft

all

windows 10 1507microsoft

all

windows 10 1607microsoft

all

windows 10 1709microsoft

all

windows 10 1803microsoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

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