Rewterz Threat Advisory – Microsoft Windows Codecs Library and Visual Studio JSON RCE Vulnerabilities

Severity

Medium

Analysis Summary

CVE-2020-17022 – Microsoft Windows Codecs Library Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Microsoft Windows Codecs Library handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute arbitrary code. Exploitation of the vulnerability requires that a program process a specially crafted image file. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Microsoft Windows Codecs Library handles objects in memory.

CVE-2020-17023 – Visual Studio JSON Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio Code when a user is tricked into opening a malicious ‘package.json’ file. 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 opens the malicious ‘package.json’ file. The update address the vulnerability by modifying the way Visual Studio Code handles JSON files.

Impact

Remote Code Execution

Affected Vendors

Microsoft

Affected Products

• Microsoft Windows Codecs Library
• Visual Studio Code

Remediation

Apply updates.

Microsoft Windows Codecs Library

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-17022

Visual Studio JSON

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-17023