<p>A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to convince a user to open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Visual Studio.</p> <p>The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Visual Studio handles objects in memory.</p>
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-16856 is rated Moderate Risk (57.7/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 4.37%). 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.
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 | 2026-06-15 | 12.15% | 4.37% | -7.78% |
| 2 | 2026-01-19 | 12.24% | 12.15% | -0.09% |
| 3 | 2025-11-21 | — | 12.24% | — |
Full EPSS history (59 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
1.8 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 7.8 | 3.1 | HIGH |
|
1.8 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 9.3 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
8.6 | 10.0 | [email protected] |
| Vendor | Product | Version | Raw CPE |
|---|---|---|---|
| microsoft | visual_studio | 2012 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio:2012:update_5:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| microsoft | visual_studio | 2013 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio:2013:update_5:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| microsoft | visual_studio | 2015 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio:2015:update_3:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| microsoft | visual_studio_2017 | >= 15.0, <= 15.8 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio_2017:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| microsoft | visual_studio_2019 | >= 16.0, <= 16.3 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio_2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| microsoft | visual_studio_2019 | >= 16.5, <= 16.6 | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:visual_studio_2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16856 | Patch Vendor Advisory |