dbcve.org
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system · Microsoft

CVE-2011-1878

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-07-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Use-after-free vulnerability in win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, R2, and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 Gold and SP1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application that leverages incorrect driver object management, a different vulnerability than other CVEs listed in MS11-054, aka "Win32k Use After Free 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 confidence

Use-after-free vulnerability in win32k.sys (Windows kernel-mode driver) allows local authenticated users to escalate privileges to SYSTEM level by exploiting incorrect driver object management. The vulnerability exists in multiple Windows versions from XP through Windows 7.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS11-054 which addresses this and related win32k.sys vulnerabilities. No effective workarounds exist for kernel-level vulnerabilities; patching is the only reliable remediation.

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 data
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2003Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Windows version is affected
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version. Confirm it is one of: Windows XP (all versions), Windows 2003 Server (all versions), Windows Vista (all versions), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows Server 2008 (all versions), Windows Server 2008 R2.
    Affected if The installed Windows version matches any of the affected versions listed in CVE-2011-1878.
  2. Check if MS11-054 patch is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates and search for security update KB2555917. Alternatively, run 'systeminfo | findstr "KB2555917"' to verify if this specific update is present.
    Affected if The security update KB2555917 (MS11-054) is NOT installed on the system.
  3. Verify win32k.sys version manually
    Locate win32k.sys in the system directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys), right-click and select Properties, then view the File Version tab. Compare this version against the patched version for your specific Windows build.
    Affected if The win32k.sys version is earlier than the patched version for your Windows build and the MS11-054 update is not installed.
  4. Confirm user context
    Verify the user account context: run 'whoami /all' to confirm the current user account. Note that this vulnerability requires a local authenticated user account to exploit.
    Affected if The system runs an unpatched affected Windows version AND a local authenticated user account exists on the machine.

A system is affected by CVE-2011-1878 if it runs any unpatched version of Windows XP, 2003, Vista, 7, Server 2003, Server 2008, or Server 2008 R2 without the KB2555917 (MS11-054) security update installed.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS11-054 which addresses this and related win32k.sys vulnerabilities. No effective workarounds exist for kernel-level vulnerabilities; patching is the only reliable remediation.

Fix this in Windows 2003 Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1878 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-1878 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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