CVE-2020-1299: 
vulnerability analysis and mitigation

A remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2020-1299) exists in Microsoft Windows, known as the 'LNK Remote Code Execution Vulnerability'. The vulnerability was discovered and reported to Microsoft in November 2019, with patches released in June 2020. This vulnerability affects the way Windows handles Shortcut (.LNK) files, potentially allowing remote code execution if a malicious .LNK file is processed (NVD, CVE).

The vulnerability has been assigned a severity score of 9.0 CVSS (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C), indicating a critical severity level. The vulnerability specifically relates to the processing of .LNK files in Windows systems, which could be exploited to execute arbitrary code on targeted systems (Rapid7).

An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. This means if a user with administrative privileges processes a malicious .LNK file, the attacker could take complete control of the affected system, potentially leading to data theft or system compromise (Hacker News).

Microsoft has released security patches for all affected versions of Windows as part of their June 2020 security updates. The fixes are available through multiple KB updates including KB4557957, KB4560960, KB4561602, KB4561608, KB4561616, KB4561621, KB4561649, KB4561673, and KB4561674 (Rapid7).