A security feature bypass vulnerability exists in the PowerShellGet V2 module. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could bypass WDAC (Windows Defender Application Control) policy and execute arbitrary code on a policy locked-down machine.
\nAn attacker must have administrator privileges to create a configuration that includes installing PowerShellGet V2 module onto a machine from the PowerShell Gallery. The WDAC policy must be configured to allow the module to run. After this is done, PowerShell script can be injected and run fully trusted, allowing the attacker arbitrary code execution on the machine.
\nThe update addresses the vulnerability by changing how URLs are processed.
","cvss_v4":null,"cvss_v3":{"version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L","score":5.3},"cwes":[],"references":["https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16886","https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-16886"],"products":["microsoft:powershellget"],"source":"nvd","synced_at":"2026-10-19T21:09:53.489947993+00:00"},"epss":{"cve":"CVE-2020-16886","score":0.00816,"percentile":0.57111,"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."]}