CVE-2020-1472
Microsoft Netlogon Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Microsoft Netlogon
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when an attacker establishes a vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connection to a domain controller, using the Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC). An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run a specially crafted application on a device on the network. To exploit the vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker would be required to use MS-NRPC to connect to a domain controller to obtain domain administrator access. Microsoft is addressing the vulnerability in a phased two-part rollout. These updates address the vulnerability by modifying how Netlogon handles the usage of Netlogon secure channels. For guidelines on how to manage the changes required for this vulnerability and more information on the phased rollout, see How to manage the changes in Netlogon secure channel connections associated with CVE-2020-1472 (updated September 28, 2020). When the second phase of Windows updates become available in Q1 2021, customers will be notified via a revision to this security vulnerability. If you wish to be notified when these updates are released, we recommend that you register for the security notifications mailer to be a
Ransomware groups exploiting CVE-2020-1472
The Gentlemen is a RaaS group that emerged in July–August 2025, rapidly claiming over 320 victims across 17+ countries by offering affiliates a 90% revenue share, deploying a Go-based locker against Windows, Linux, NAS, and BSD systems; a compromised C2 server
The group emerged in mid-February 2024 and has already listed several organizations as alleged victims of their attacks, resulting from extortion through encryption and data leaks. The announcement of the sale of the new Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) by Ranso
"Black Basta" is a new ransomware strain discovered during April 2022 - looks in dev since at least early February 2022 - and due to their ability to quickly amass new victims and the style of their negotiations, this is likely not a new operation but rather a
Exploitation is attributed to these groups across their recorded activity. It does not follow that every organisation they listed was reached through CVE-2020-1472 — the source data does not record an entry point per incident.
Exploitation status
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
Listed by CISA on 3 November 2021. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 3 May 2022. CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
EPSS — exploitation probability
FIRST puts the probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days at 99.4%, which is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. EPSS is a forecast of activity, not a measure of severity, and it is rescored daily.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Recent listings by these groups
Disclosures from the groups above, newest first.
Frequently asked questions
Is CVE-2020-1472 being exploited by ransomware groups?
Yes. CVE-2020-1472 is recorded as exploited by Thegentlemen, Ransomhub, Blackbasta. Between them these groups account for 1,928 victim disclosures in this database. CISA also records this vulnerability as used in ransomware campaigns.
What does CVE-2020-1472 affect?
CVE-2020-1472 affects Microsoft Netlogon. An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when an attacker establishes a vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connection to a domain controller, using the Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC). An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run a specially crafted application on a device on the network. To exploit the vulnerability, an unauthenticated attacker would be required to use MS-NRPC to connect to a domain controller to obtain domain administrator access. Microsoft is addressing the vulnerability in a phased two-part rollout. These updates address the vulnerability by modifying how Netlogon handles the usage of Netlogon secure channels. For guidelines on how to manage the changes required for this vulnerability and more information on the phased rollout, see How to manage the changes in Netlogon secure channel connections associated with CVE-2020-1472 (updated September 28, 2020). When the second phase of Windows updates become available in Q1 2021, customers will be notified via a revision to this security vulnerability. If you wish to be notified when these updates are released, we recommend that you register for the security notifications mailer to be a
How severe is CVE-2020-1472?
CVE-2020-1472 is rated MEDIUM with a CVSS base score of 5.5. EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 99.4%, higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, with a federal remediation deadline of 3 May 2022.
How should organisations respond to CVE-2020-1472?
Apply the vendor patch for Microsoft Netlogon as the first priority, and treat any internet-facing instance as the most urgent. Because this vulnerability is associated with ransomware activity, also review whether the affected systems were reachable before patching, rather than assuming that patching alone closes the incident.