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Weekly Signal
Live intelligence Updated 19 Aug 2026 · 20:27 UTC

Canonical, Debian, Fedoraproject +5 more · Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +13 more

CVE-2020-1472

Microsoft Netlogon Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Recommended action

Validate affected assets and exposure now, then remediate on an accelerated schedule. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

View response plan
CVSS5.5
EPSS99.5%
KEVYes
ExploitationConfirmed exploitation
PatchPatch or guidance available ↓

Assessment

Why it matters

CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 99.5%; technical severity is CVSS 5.5.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when an attacker establishes a vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connection to a domain controller, using the Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC). An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run a specially crafted application on a device on the network. To exploit the vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker would be required to use MS-NRPC to connect to a domain controller to obtain domain administrator access. Microsoft is addressing the vulnerability in a phased two-part rollout. These updates address the vulnerability by modifying how Netlogon handles the usage of Netlogon secure channels. For guidelines on how to manage the changes required for this vulnerability and more information on the phased rollout, see How to manage the changes in Netlogon secure channel connections associated with CVE-2020-1472 (updated September 28, 2020). When the second phase of Windows updates become available in Q1 2021, customers will be notified via a revision to this security vulnerability. If you wish to be notified when these updates are released, we recommend that you register for the security notifications mailer to be alerted of content changes to this advisory. See Microsoft Technical Security Notifications.

Who should care

  • Teams operating Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +13 more
  • Vulnerability and exposure management teams
  • Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity

Response plan

What I would do

  1. Confirm whether Ubuntu Linux, Debian Linux, Fedora +13 more is present in the environment.
  2. Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
  3. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
  4. Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
  5. Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.

Vendor remediation

Patch and remediation links

Use the vendor source below to confirm the correct fixed version, package or mitigation for your affected product.

Technical details

CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
CWE
CWE-330
Affected versions
Canonical Ubuntu Linux (Version: 20.04); Debian Debian Linux (Version: 9.0); Fedoraproject Fedora (Version: 33); Microsoft Netlogon; Microsoft Windows Server 1903; Microsoft Windows Server 1909; Microsoft Windows Server 2004 (Version: -); Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Version: r2)
Published
17 August 2020
Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None

Signal timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. Added to CISA KEV
  3. Latest EPSS score: 99.5%
  4. Signal calculated at 84

External references

Live public intelligence This assessment combines public-source evidence. Validate the affected product, version and exposure against your own environment before making a risk decision.