Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2019-0859: Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CVE-2019-0859 · Severity: critical · CVSS 7.8 · Exploited in the wild · Published 2021-11-03

Technologies: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows 8.1, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Windows Server 2019, Microsoft Win32K, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Windows Rt 8.1. Vendors: Microsoft.

Executive brief

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Windows Win32k component due to improper handling of objects in memory. A local attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode, allowing them to install programs, view/change/delete data, or create new accounts with full user rights.

Affected products

  • Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1
  • Microsoft Windows RT 8.1
  • Microsoft Windows 10 1507, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, R2 Service Pack 1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Gold, R2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Gold, 1709, 1803
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019

Timeline

  • 2019-04-10: disclosed: Initial analysis by NIST and Microsoft advisory publication
  • 2021-11-03: kev added: Added to CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
  • 2021-11-03: exploited: Confirmed as exploited in the wild per CISA KEV catalog entry

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