CVE-2011-0037
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Malware Protection Engine before 1.1.6603.0, as used in Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT), Windows Defender, Security Essentials, Forefront Client Security, Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, and Windows Live OneCare, allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted value of an unspecified user registry key.
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 confidenceLocal privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Malware Protection Engine before version 1.1.6603.0. Unauthenticated local users can gain elevated privileges by setting a crafted value in an unspecified user registry key, affecting multiple Microsoft security products including Windows Defender, Security Essentials, and MSRT.
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 versions<= 1.1.6502.0= 0.1.13.192= 1.1.3520.0all 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
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 installed Microsoft security productCheck installed programs for Windows Defender, Security Essentials, Forefront Client Security, Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010, Windows Live Onecare, or verify the Malicious Software Removal Tool presenceAffected if Any of these products are installed and the engine version is not known yet
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Find Malware Protection Engine versionUse the installed security product's About or Updates section, or check the engine version via the product's built-in update mechanism or version informationAffected if Unable to determine the exact engine version for comparison
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Compare engine version to vulnerable rangesCompare the installed version against: 1.1.6603.0 or later is fixed; vulnerable versions include <= 1.1.6502.0, 0.1.13.192, and 1.1.3520.0Affected if The installed version is 1.1.6603.0 or higher (not vulnerable) OR the version matches or is less than the vulnerable versions listed
If the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine version is below 1.1.6603.0 (or exactly matches 0.1.13.192 or 1.1.3520.0), the local privilege escalation vulnerability is present on the system.
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 dataUpdate Microsoft Malware Protection Engine to version 1.1.6603.0 or later via Windows Update or organizational patch management. Since this is a local privilege escalation, ensure systems are not left unattended with untrusted local users.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0037 — 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-2011-0037 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