Loading vulnerability…
CVE-2019-0859 is a Microsoft Windows local elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Win32k component caused by improper handling of objects in memory. Available technical reporting identifies the flaw as a use-after-free in the CreateWindowEx window-creation path. During processing of WM_NCCREATE, an attacker can influence window state while the window Function ID is transiently unset, redirect execution into menu-window handling, and cause window initialization to fail in a way that leads CreateWindowEx to free a window object that remains attacker-influenced. This creates a controllable use-after-free condition in kernel memory. Exploitation has been observed on 64-bit Windows systems, including Windows 7 through older Windows 10 builds, and has been used in the wild as a zero-day. The vulnerability enables a local attacker to transition from user mode to kernel-level code execution and then elevate the privileges of a chosen process.
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.
What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.
Patch, then assume compromise.
1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository is a proof-of-concept (POC) exploit for CVE-2019-0859, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 7 x64 Service Pack 1 (build 7601) with the 2019 March security update. The exploit is implemented in C++ with a custom x64 assembly routine (syscall_x64.asm) to perform direct system calls, bypassing standard Windows APIs. The codebase includes header files defining Windows kernel structures and a project file for building with Visual Studio. The README provides usage notes and target requirements. The exploit is not 100% reliable and may require multiple attempts. No network or remote attack vectors are present; exploitation requires local code execution on the target system.
Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.
Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
10 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A previously known SetWindowLongPtr-related Windows vulnerability mentioned only as historical background.
A Windows kernel local privilege escalation vulnerability involving a use-after-free in CreateWindowEx, used as a real-world exploit tool.
A previously found zero-day referenced because its exploit code is similar to the CVE-2018-8641 exploit analyzed in the article.
A Windows zero-day vulnerability allegedly developed by Volodya and used by a financially motivated cybercrime FIN group; it was reported to Microsoft and is now patched.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.