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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 3 May 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2019-0797

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-04-09
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Zero-click Patch available

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
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Win32k component fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka 'Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2019-0808.

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 · moderate confidence

A privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Win32k kernel component allows a local attacker to elevate to SYSTEM privileges by exploiting improper memory object handling in win32k.sys.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2019-0797; prioritize patching workstations and servers to prevent local privilege escalation attacks.

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 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1703Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1709Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1803Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating 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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'systeminfo' from an elevated command prompt or check the Windows version via 'winver'. Note the exact version and build number displayed.
    Affected if The displayed version matches Windows 10 1507, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803, 1809, Windows 8.1, or Windows RT 8.1 (any build).
  2. Confirm win32k.sys file version
    Run 'driverquery /v /fo list | findstr win32k' or navigate to C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys, right-click, and view Properties > Details to see the File Version.
    Affected if The file version is older than the patched version for your specific Windows build.
  3. Check for security update KB4489883
    Run 'Get-HotFix -Id KB4489883' in PowerShell, or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, and search for KB4489883.
    Affected if The update is NOT listed as installed on the system.
  4. Verify patch status via Windows Update history
    Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list all installed quick fix engineering updates.
    Affected if The security update corresponding to CVE-2019-0797 (varies by Windows version) is absent from the update history.

The system is vulnerable if it runs any affected Windows version (10 1507-1809, 8.1, RT 8.1) AND the CVE-2019-0797 security patch is not 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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch portal.msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2019-0797; prioritize patching workstations and servers to prevent local privilege escalation attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply March 2019 security updates (KB4482887 for Win10 1809, or respective KB for other versions)

  1. Install the March 2019 security updates from Microsoft Update Catalog to address the Win32k elevation of privilege vulnerability
  2. For Windows 10 1809: Install KB4482887
  3. For Windows 10 1803: Install KB4482888
  4. For Windows 10 1709: Install KB4482894
  5. For Windows 10 1703: Install KB4482901
  6. For Windows 10 1607: Install KB4482884
  7. For Windows 10 1507: Install KB4482908
  8. For Windows 8.1: Install KB4482883 (Monthly Rollup) or KB4482885 (Security Only)
Caveat Standard patching - ensure backups and test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2019-0797 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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