CVE-2010-1896
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe Windows kernel-mode drivers in win32k.sys in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, and Windows Server 2008 Gold and SP2 do not properly validate user-mode input passed to kernel mode, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k User Input Validation Vulnerability."
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe win32k.sys kernel-mode driver fails to properly validate user-mode input before passing it to kernel mode operations, allowing a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated (kernel) privileges through a crafted application.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or check System Properties to confirm the Windows versionAffected if Version is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 (all versions of these products are affected)
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Check if security update MS10-048 is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' command, and search for update KB981852 or MS10-048Affected if The update KB981852 is NOT installed - the system is missing the vulnerability patch
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Verify win32k.sys versionNavigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys, right-click > Properties > Details to view file version, or run 'driverquery /v | findstr win32k'Affected if The file version is older than the patched version for your Windows release (unpatched win32k.sys is vulnerable)
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Confirm kernel-level access exposureReview system audit logs and running processes for any unexpected or unauthorized local privilege escalation indicatorsAffected if Any unknown processes with SYSTEM privileges or unauthorized access to win32k.sys functions is detected
A system is affected if it runs an unpatched version of Windows XP, Vista, 2003, or 2008 and lacks the KB981852 (MS10-048) security update.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply Microsoft security update MS10-048 which addresses the input validation vulnerability in win32k.sys. This is a kernel-level patch requiring system restart.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,904.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-1896 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-1896 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data