CVE-2020-0789

System hang via unsafe hard-link handling

Published Mar 12, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial of service in Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 16.0 through 16.4 allows local users to make the target system stop responding via hard links. The Visual Studio Extension Installer Service improperly processes hard links during file handling instead of rejecting the unsafe link condition. Low-privileged local access is required, and Microsoft has not disclosed the system-hang recovery behavior.

CVSS severity7.1
High
EPSS probability0.86%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 16.0 through 16.4 allows local users to make the target system stop responding via hard links. The Visual Studio Extension Installer Service improperly processes hard links during file handling instead of rejecting the unsafe link condition. Low-privileged local access is required, and Microsoft has not disclosed the system-hang recovery behavior.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-0789
Published
Mar 12, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019
Classifications
CWE-59, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 12, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=16.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Microsoft · Microsoft Visual Studio 2019version=16.0
Microsoft · Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4version=unspecified

Published CVSS scores

7.1NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
6.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:C/A:C

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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