CVE-2020-1567 | MSHTML Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the MSHTML engine improperly validates input. An attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of 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 HTML editing attack scenario, an attacker could trick a user into editing a specially crafted file that is designed to exploit the vulnerability. The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying how MSHTML engine validates input.

Published: 2020-08-17 Last update: 2026-02-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-1567 is rated Moderate Risk (47.4/100): CVSS Medium severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.50%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-1567

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-12-28 1.62% 2.50% +0.88%
2 2025-12-27 2.50% 1.62% -0.88%
3 2025-10-28 2.50%

Full EPSS history (33 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-1567

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
4.2 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.6 2.5 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.6 5.9 [email protected]
7.6 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:H)
Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
4.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-1567

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-1567

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft internet_explorer 11 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:11:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 9 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-1567

cvelogic Threat Intelligence