CVE-2014-1812
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 Group Policy implementation in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2 does not properly handle distribution of passwords, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive credential information and consequently gain privileges by leveraging access to the SYSVOL share, as exploited in the wild in May 2014, aka "Group Policy Preferences Password Elevation of Privilege 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 vulnerability exists in Group Policy Preferences (GPP) which allowed administrators to push passwords (for local admin accounts, scheduled tasks, services, etc.) to domain-joined machines via XML files stored in the SYSVOL share. These passwords were encrypted but used a known RC4 key, allowing any authenticated domain user to decrypt them and obtain privileged credentials.
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 versions= r2all 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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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Locate GPP XML files in SYSVOLNavigate to \\YourDomain.com\SYSVOL\YourDomain.com\Policies\ and search all XML files for the string 'cpassword'. This attribute contains the AES-encrypted password. Alternatively, use: Get-ChildItem -Path '\\YourDomain.com\SYSVOL\YourDomain.com\Policies\' -Recurse -Filter *.xml | Select-String -Pattern 'cpassword'Affected if Any XML file in SYSVOL contains a 'cpassword' attribute, indicating a stored GPP password that can be decrypted with the known AES key
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Identify affected GPP typesOpen the XML files containing 'cpassword' and examine the <Properties> section to determine which GPP type uses the password: 'User' for scheduled tasks, 'Groups' for local administrator groups, or 'Service' for service account credentials.Affected if The GPP type is one that stores credentials (scheduled tasks, local admin groups, or services) and contains a cpassword value
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Verify patch MS14-025 installationOn a domain controller, run 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update for security update MS14-025. Alternatively, check the registry key for the patch under HKLM\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages.Affected if The MS14-025 update is NOT installed, meaning the vulnerability remains unpatched
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Check SYSVOL read permissionsVerify that authenticated domain users have read access to the SYSVOL share by reviewing share permissions and NTFS ACLs on the \\YourDomain.com\SYSVOL\ path.Affected if Authenticated domain users (including low-privilege users) have read access to SYSVOL, allowing them to retrieve the encrypted password files
Your environment is affected if SYSVOL contains any XML files with the 'cpassword' attribute and the MS14-025 patch is not installed, allowing any authenticated domain user to decrypt stored credentials.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply MS14-025 security update (KB2919355 and related patches) and immediately remove all stored passwords from GPP configurations in SYSVOL; implement alternatives like LAPS for local administrator password management.
Upgrade to Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 for supported platforms; Windows 7/8/8.1 extended support ended and migration is recommended
- Apply Microsoft Security Update MS14-025 (KB2928120) to address the Group Policy Preferences password vulnerability
- Identify any Group Policy Preferences that contain stored passwords (typically found in.xml files in the SYSVOL share on domain controllers)
- Remove or encrypt stored credentials from GPP XML files in the SYSVOL share: \\domain\SYSVOL\domain\Policies\
- Audit existing GPPs and remove stored passwords where possible, as they remain discoverable even after patching
- For systems that are end-of-life (Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008/2012), plan migration to supported operating system versions
- Ensure domain controllers are fully patched before continuing normal operations
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-1812 — 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-2014-1812 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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