Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2019-0797
CVE-2019-0797
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Win32k vulnerability
Microsoft Win32k privilege escalation vulnerability caused by improper memory object handling, enabling kernel-mode code execution. Actively exploited in the wild.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A kernel privilege escalation in Win32k that has demonstrated real-world exploitation. The low EPSS score reflects limited attack surface requirements, but active wild exploitation confirms practical threat despite narrow conditions.
CISA KEV Yes · 2021-11-034EPSS 0.0189 (verify live)5CVSS 7.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
6 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.0189 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Microsoft, Win32k. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 939 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious input or trigger a specific code path in Win32k to cause improper memory object handling.
Business
An attacker gains kernel-level code execution on affected Windows systems, bypassing user-mode restrictions and security boundaries.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges to install persistent malware, disable security controls, or pivot to other systems.
Business
Compromised systems face complete loss of integrity; attackers can exfiltrate data, deploy ransomware, or establish long-term persistence undetectable by endpoint tools.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05