HighPublic exploit

Win32k Reference Count Vulnerability

IdentifiersCVE-2010-2549CWE-911

CVE-2010-2549 is an improper reference-count update vulnerability in the Windows kernel-mode Win32k components of Microsoft Windows Vista SP1/SP2 and Windows Server 2008 Gold/SP2. Repeated calls to the NtUserCheckAccessForIntegrityLevel system service can trigger a failure in LockProcessByClientId, causing deletion of a process object that remains in use. The resulting use-after-free condition can be leveraged for local privilege escalation or can destabilize the system.

For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

Start free trial

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

A successful exploit allows a local user to gain elevated privileges. The flaw can also cause a denial of service through a system crash when the in-use process object is deleted and later accessed.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Restrict local access to trusted users only, as exploitation requires local code execution. Monitor for abnormal usage patterns of NtUserCheckAccessForIntegrityLevel. Employ kernel exploit mitigations such as Driver Signature Enforcement and modern kernel pool protections where available. Ultimately, upgrade to a version of Windows with the improved reference counting mitigations (Windows 8 or later) to fully address the underlying class of vulnerabilities.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the security updates provided by Microsoft that address this vulnerability. Microsoft introduced mitigations in Windows 8 and later, including improved reference counting, sanity checks, and bug checks for illegal reference counts. For affected systems (Vista/2008), install the relevant patches as soon as possible. Note that fixes were not backported to all older Windows versions, so upgrading to a supported and patched OS is recommended.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 1 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2008operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Vistaoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

2 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

2 SOURCESView more in app

cwe mitreNews

Dec 21, 2012

CWE - CWE-911: Improper Update of Reference Count (4.20)

A vulnerability example affecting an OS kernel driver that allows code execution.

cwe mitreNews

Dec 21, 2012

CWE - CWE-911: Improper Update of Reference Count (4.20)

An OS kernel driver vulnerability that allows code execution; the supplied content provides no further technical detail.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

Start free trial

Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity