CVE-2020-1380

Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability

  • High 7.8
  • Exploited: added to CISA KEV 3 Nov 2021

Description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the scripting engine handles objects in memory in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit the vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website. An attacker could also embed an ActiveX control marked "safe for initialization" in an application or Microsoft Office document that hosts the IE rendering engine. The attacker could also take advantage of compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements. These websites could contain specially crafted content that could exploit the vulnerability. The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying how the scripting engine handles objects in memory.

Key facts

Published
17 Aug 2020
Last changed
21 Oct 2025
Assigned by
microsoft
KEV added
3 Nov 2021
KEV fix due
3 May 2022
EPSS
24.188% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 97.886% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
SSVC (CISA)
Exploitation: active; Automatable: no; Technical impact: total

Severity scores

Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.

  • 7.8CVSS 3.1, Highfrom the CNA (microsoft)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

What to do

  • Apply updates per vendor instructions.CISA KEV required action

Historical context and remediation

This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.

No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.

Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.

Read the original CVE record.

Affected products

VendorProductVersions
MicrosoftInternet Explorer 11
  • 1.0.0 up to but excluding publication (affected)

Timeline

  1. 17 Aug 2020 Published
  2. 3 Nov 2021 CVE-2020-1380 added to CISA KEV
  3. 3 Nov 2021 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue

Weakness

References