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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 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2019-0808

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 High EPSS Public exploit 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-2019-0797.

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

CVE-2019-0808 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows kernel mode driver (win32k.sys) where the Win32k component fails to properly handle objects in memory, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges from a standard user to SYSTEM level access.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2019-0808 to vulnerable Windows systems; prioritize endpoint patching and verify complete deployment across the environment.

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 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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. Check Windows version
    Open System Properties (sysdm.cpl) or run 'winver' command to identify the installed Windows edition and version
    Affected if The system is running Windows 7 (any version), Windows Server 2008 (any version), or Windows Server 2008 R2
  2. Verify win32k.sys version
    Locate win32k.sys in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and view the file properties, or run 'systeminfo' and compare the OS version/build number to unpatched builds
    Affected if The win32k.sys version matches the version present in vulnerable Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 installations before the March 2019 security update (KB4489888)
  3. Check installed security updates
    Open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' to enumerate installed hotfixes
    Affected if The security update for CVE-2019-0808 (KB4489888 for Windows 7/Server 2008 R2, KB4489883 for Server 2008) is NOT installed
  4. Confirm SYSTEM privileges exist
    Review whether any untrusted local users have been granted administrative rights or SYSTEM-level access beyond their intended privileges
    Affected if Standard user accounts have obtained elevated SYSTEM privileges without documented authorization, suggesting possible exploitation

A system is affected if it runs Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 AND lacks the March 2019 security update for CVE-2019-0808, allowing potential privilege escalation via win32k.sys.

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-2019-0808 to vulnerable Windows systems; prioritize endpoint patching and verify complete deployment across the environment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 (latest supported version) or Windows Server 2016/2019/2022

  1. Verify the current operating system version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in command prompt
  2. Backup all critical data and applications on the affected system
  3. Obtain installation media for a supported Windows version (Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016/2019/2022)
  4. Create a plan for application compatibility testing
  5. Perform a fresh installation or in-place upgrade to the target Windows version
  6. Install all available Windows Updates after migration
  7. Verify that the Win32k.sys component is updated and the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Windows 7 and Server 2008 are end-of-life; applications designed for these older OS versions may require updates or replacement; hardware requirements differ for newer Windows versions

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-0808 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2019-0808 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