CVE-2020-0604

Plain English Summary

AI-powered analysis for quick understanding

An attacker can run malicious code on a victim's computer through Visual Studio Code if they trick the victim into cloning a specially crafted project repository and opening it. This is particularly dangerous if the victim has administrative rights, as the attacker could then take full control of the system, install software, or manipulate data.

Technical Description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when it process environment variables after opening a project. 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. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to convince a target to clone a repository and open it in Visual Studio Code. Attacker-specified code would execute when the target opened the integrated terminal. The update address the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code handles environment variables.

CVSS Vector Analysis

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
Confidentiality ImpactHigh
Integrity ImpactHigh
Availability ImpactHigh
ScopeUnchanged

Vector String

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploit Resources

Search for proof-of-concept code and exploit modules

Official References

Est. Bounty
$2,684($1K-$5K)
Vendor Response
Grade FPatched in 2015 days

Quick Information

Published

Aug 17, 2020

over 5 years ago

Last Modified

Feb 23, 2026

about 1 month ago

Vendor

microsoft

Product

visual studio code

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