A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio when it improperly handles objects in memory. 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. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.
\nTo exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would have to convince a user to open a specially crafted file with an affected version of Visual Studio.
\nThe update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Visual Studio handles objects in memory.
","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","score":7.8},"cwes":[],"references":["https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16856","https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16856"],"products":["microsoft:visual_studio","microsoft:visual_studio_2017","microsoft:visual_studio_2019"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T21:09:20.498348299+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2020-16856","score":0.04369,"percentile":0.91267,"date":"2026-10-31"},"kev":null,"osv":[],"attribution":["This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.","EPSS scores: FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System, https://www.first.org/epss","Known exploited vulnerabilities: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","Package advisories: OSV (https://osv.dev), from the GitHub Advisory Database, PyPA, Go, RustSec and other ecosystem databases, under CC-BY 4.0 or CC0","CVE records: the CVE Program's CVE List (https://www.cve.org), under its terms of use (https://www.cve.org/Legal/TermsOfUse). CVE is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation; this product is not affiliated with the CVE Program."]}