Track vulnerabilities like this one. Sign up free to get alerted when software you use is affected.

CVE-2020-0938: Windows Adobe Font Manager can let attackers run code

CVE-2020-0938 · published 6 years ago · actively exploited

Summary

The Adobe Font Manager library in Microsoft Windows (including older Windows 10 builds) can be tricked by a specially crafted font file to run malicious code. On most Windows versions the code runs with full system rights; on newer Windows 10 builds it runs with limited sandbox rights. Install the latest Windows updates from Microsoft to fix the issue.

What to do

The CVE record does not list a fixed version. Check the vendor's site or the advisory links below - a fix may already be released.

Affected software

Vendor	Product	Affected versions
microsoft	windows	All versions
microsoft	windows_10_1507	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1507:-::::::x64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1607	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607:-::::::x64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1709	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1709:-::::::arm64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1803	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1803:-::::::arm64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1809	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809:-::::::arm64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1903	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1903:-::::::arm64:`
microsoft	windows_10_1909	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1909:-::::::arm64:`
microsoft	windows_7	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1::::::`
microsoft	windows_8.1	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:::::::*`
microsoft	windows_rt_8.1	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:::::::*`
microsoft	windows_server_1803	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_1803:-::::::x64:`
microsoft	windows_server_1903	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_1903:-::::::x64:`
microsoft	windows_server_1909	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_1909:-::::::x64:`
microsoft	windows_server_2008	r2 `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2::::::`
microsoft	windows_server_2012	r2 `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:::::::*`
microsoft	windows_server_2016	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:-:::::::*`
microsoft	windows_server_2019	All versions `cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:-:::::::*`

Original advisory text

Microsoft Windows Adobe Font Manager Library Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Microsoft Windows Adobe Font Manager Library contains an unspecified vulnerability when handling specially crafted multi-master fonts (Adobe Type 1 PostScript format) that allows for remote code execution for all systems except Windows 10. For systems running Windows 10, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could execute code in an AppContainer sandbox context with limited privileges and capabilities.

References

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/161299/Apple-CoreText-libFontParser.dylib-S... Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-0938 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2020-... US Government Resource

Fix within

Internet-facing 3 days

and check for signs of compromise

Internal 14 days

Known to be exploited
Needs hands-on effort to exploit
Gives an attacker full control

Severity

7.8 High

Exploitation

Known exploited

Listed in the CISA KEV catalogue - exploitation confirmed in the wild.

69% chance of attack within 30 days

Type

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write

Timeline

Published15 Apr 2020

Updated30 Sep 2026

First seen6 Mar 2026

Sources

CVE-2020-0938 · CISA KEV

CVE-2020-0938 · NVD

Track software like this

Free during beta