CVE-2020-17014: 
vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVE-2020-17014) was disclosed on November 11, 2020. The vulnerability affects multiple versions of Microsoft Windows including Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and various Windows Server versions (ZDI Advisory).

The vulnerability exists within the Print Spooler service and allows local attackers to create a denial-of-service condition on affected installations of Microsoft Windows. The specific flaw involves the ability to abuse the Print Spooler service to delete a file through directory junction manipulation. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3 score of 6.1 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H) (ZDI Advisory).

An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability can leverage it to create a denial-of-service condition on the target system. The attack can affect system availability and has the potential for limited impact on system integrity (ZDI Advisory).

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system. The attack complexity is considered low, requiring local access and low privileges, with no user interaction needed (ZDI Advisory).

Microsoft has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Users should apply the appropriate patches through Microsoft's security update system (ZDI Advisory).