CVE-2020-17144 | Microsoft Exchange Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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Microsoft Exchange Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Published: 2020-12-10 Last update: 2025-10-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-17144 is rated Critical Active Threat (92.8/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 92.00%, 100th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting Microsoft / Exchange Server. a weakness (CWE-502) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2020-17144

Name: Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2021-11-03

Action due: 2022-05-03

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-17144

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 2026-04-07 92.73% 92.00% -0.72%
2 2025-11-21 92.14% 92.73% +0.59%
3 2025-11-18 92.14%

Full EPSS history (50 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-17144

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.4 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
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.
1.7 6.0 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
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.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
6.0 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
6.8 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-17144

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-17144

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft exchange_server 2010 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:exchange_server:2010:sp3_rollup_31:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-17144

cvelogic Threat Intelligence