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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 10 Jul 2022. Known ransomware use
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2019-1458

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-10
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 Ransomware 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'.

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

A local elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Windows Win32k component (win32k.sys) due to improper handling of objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode, potentially gaining full system control.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update KB4530715 (or subsequent cumulative updates that include this fix) to patch the Win32k.sys vulnerability. Prioritize patching domain controllers and high-value workstations.

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 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating 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 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 1507, Windows 10 1607, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows Server 2016
  2. Check win32k.sys file version
    Locate win32k.sys in the system directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys) and view its file properties to see the version number
    Affected if The win32k.sys version corresponds to an unpatched build for the detected Windows version (compare your version against Microsoft's security bulletin for CVE-2019-1458)
  3. Verify security update installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list installed hotfixes, and look for the December 2019 security update addressing CVE-2019-1458
    Affected if The security update for CVE-2019-1458 is NOT installed on the system

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND is missing the CVE-2019-1458 security patch, as the vulnerability allows local authenticated users to escalate privileges to SYSTEM level through the win32k.sys component.

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 KB4530715 (or subsequent cumulative updates that include this fix) to patch the Win32k.sys vulnerability. Prioritize patching domain controllers and high-value workstations.

Recommended fix High confidence

For systems running Windows 10 version 1507/1607 or Windows 7 (which have reached end of support), migrate to a supported Windows version such as Windows 10 version 1903 or later, or Windows Server 2019

  1. Open Windows Update on the affected system (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to download the latest security updates from Microsoft
  3. Install the December 2019 security updates, specifically the update for Win32k.sys
  4. Restart the system when prompted to complete the installation
  5. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history for the December 2019 security update containing KB (the specific KB number varies by Windows version)
Caveat Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 require paid extended security updates (ESU) to receive patches; otherwise a full OS upgrade is required

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,780
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.

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-2019-1458 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