CVE-2011-1880
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 · uneditedwin32k.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 triggers a NULL pointer dereference, a different vulnerability than other CVEs listed in MS11-054, aka "Win32k Null Pointer De-reference 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 confidenceA NULL pointer dereference vulnerability in win32k.sys (Windows kernel-mode driver) allows local authenticated users to gain elevated privileges by triggering the dereference through a specially crafted application. This affects multiple Windows versions from XP SP2 through Windows 7 SP1.
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 versions= r2all 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 Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows version and Service Pack levelAffected if Version is Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows 7 (any SP)
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Locate win32k.sys fileFind the win32k.sys file. Typical paths: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys or C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys (32-bit vs 64-bit). Use 'dir /s C:\win32k.sys' if uncertainAffected if File exists (vulnerability only applies if this driver is loaded)
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Check win32k.sys versionRight-click win32k.sys, select Properties, then Details tab to view File Version. Alternatively use 'powershell (Get-Item "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys").VersionInfo.FileVersion'Affected if Version is below the patched build for your Windows version (unpatched systems have older win32k.sys dates/versions)
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Verify MS11-054 patch statusRun 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for security update KB2555917. Also check 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages" /s | findstr "KB2555917"'Affected if KB2555917 is NOT installed - system is vulnerable
System is affected if it runs any unpatched Windows XP through Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 version and KB2555917 is not installed.
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 MS11-054 which addresses this and related win32k.sys vulnerabilities. This is a kernel-level patch requiring system restart; prioritize patch deployment to all affected systems.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1880 — 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-2011-1880 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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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.
- 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
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