CVE-2026-20872: CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-20872) concerns external control of file name or path within the Windows NTLM authentication protocol in Windows 10 Version 1607 (build 10.0.14393.0). It enables an unauthorized attacker to conduct network spoofing attacks by manipulating file names or paths externally. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-73. Microsoft has published an official fix to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to spoof network communications, potentially misleading systems or users about the source or authenticity of network traffic. The confidentiality impact is high, while integrity and availability impacts are not indicated. No known exploits are reported in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the security update provided in the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20872 to remediate this vulnerability.
CVE-2026-20872: CWE-73: External Control of File Name or Path in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
Description
External control of file name or path in Windows NTLM allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
CVSS v3.1
Score 6.5medium
Affected software
Weaknesses
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability (CVE-2026-20872) concerns external control of file name or path within the Windows NTLM authentication protocol in Windows 10 Version 1607 (build 10.0.14393.0). It enables an unauthorized attacker to conduct network spoofing attacks by manipulating file names or paths externally. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-73. Microsoft has published an official fix to remediate this issue.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows an attacker to spoof network communications, potentially misleading systems or users about the source or authenticity of network traffic. The confidentiality impact is high, while integrity and availability impacts are not indicated. No known exploits are reported in the wild at this time.
Mitigation Recommendations
An official fix is available from Microsoft. Users and administrators should apply the security update provided in the Microsoft advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20872 to remediate this vulnerability.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- microsoft
- Date Reserved
- 2025-12-03T05:54:20.382Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- official-fix
- Vendor Advisory Urls
- [{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20872","vendor":"Microsoft"}]
Threat ID: 69668ae1a60475309f9ae169
Added to database: 01/13/2026, 18:11:45 UTC
Last enriched: 07/30/2026, 23:42:26 UTC
Last updated: 09/10/2026, 19:36:52 UTC
Views: 348
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