Cyber Posture

CVE-2026-20963

CriticalCISA KEVActive Exploitation

Published: 13 January 2026

Published
13 January 2026
Modified
01 April 2026
KEV Added
18 March 2026
Patch
CVSS Score 9.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0488 89.6th percentile
Risk Priority 43 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Description

Deserialization of untrusted data in Microsoft Office SharePoint allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

prevent

Flaw remediation requires timely patching of the specific deserialization vulnerability in Microsoft Office SharePoint to prevent remote unauthorized code execution.

prevent

Information input validation directly counters deserialization of untrusted data (CWE-502) by rejecting malformed or malicious serialized payloads.

preventdetect

Vulnerability monitoring and scanning detects the CVE-2026-20963 flaw in SharePoint systems, enabling remediation before exploitation.

Security SummaryAI

CVE-2026-20963 is a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502) in Microsoft Office SharePoint. Published on 2026-01-13, it carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), marking it as critical due to its potential for severe impact.

An unauthorized attacker can exploit this vulnerability remotely over a network with low attack complexity, requiring no privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation enables arbitrary code execution on the affected SharePoint server.

The Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20963 provides details on patches and mitigation steps. Additionally, the vulnerability appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog at https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-20963, indicating active exploitation in the wild.

Details

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
18 March 2026

Affected Products

microsoft
sharepoint server
2016, 2019 · ≤ 16.0.19127.20442

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
Why these techniques?

Deserialization vulnerability in Microsoft Office SharePoint enables arbitrary remote code execution with low privileges over the network, directly facilitating exploitation of a public-facing web application.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

References