Windows COM
CVE-2019-0552 — Windows COM Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Executive Summary
An elevation of privilege exists in Windows COM Desktop Broker. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could run arbitrary code with elevated privileges. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker could run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability. This vulnerability by itself does not allow arbitrary code to be run. However, this vulnerability could be used in conjunction with one or more vulnerabilities (e.g. a remote code execution vulnerability and another elevation of privilege) that could take advantage of the elevated privileges when running. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Windows COM Desktop Broker processes interface requests.
Overview
8.8
CVSS HIGH
Important
MS Severity
Not Exploited
MS Exploit Status
More Likely
MS Exploit Likelihood
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
ATTACK VECTOR
Local
ATTACK COMPLEXITY
Low
PRIVILEGES REQUIRED
Low
USER INTERACTION
None
SCOPE
Changed
CONFIDENTIALITY
High
INTEGRITY
High
AVAILABILITY
High
EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY
Proof-of-Concept
REMEDIATION LEVEL
Official Fix
REPORT CONFIDENCE
Confirmed
Temporal Score: 6.3
EPSS Score
0.02539
probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
0.83319 percentile - updated 2026-07-25
View on FIRST.org
Affected Products
22 affected products
| Product | KB Article | Severity | Impact | Restart Required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems | 4480962 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 for x64-based Systems | 4480962 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems | 4480961 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems | 4480961 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems | 4480973 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1703 for x64-based Systems | 4480973 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems | 4480978 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems | 4480978 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems | 4480978 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems | 4480966 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems | 4480966 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems | 4480966 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems | 4480116 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems | 4480116 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems | 4480116 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows 8.1 for 32-bit systems 4480963 (Monthly Rollup) 4480964 (Security Only) Important Elevation of Privilege 4471320 Base: 7.0 Temporal: 6.3 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes None Windows 8.1 for x64-based systems 4480963 (Monthly Rollup) 4480964 (Security Only) Important Elevation of Privilege 4471320 Base: 7.0 Temporal: 6.3 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes None Windows RT 8.1 | 4480963 (Monthly Rollup) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 4480963 (Monthly Rollup) 4480964 (Security Only) Important Elevation of Privilege 4471320 Base: 7.0 Temporal: 6.3 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes None Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) 4480963 (Monthly Rollup) 4480964 (Security Only) Important Elevation of Privilege 4471320 Base: 7.0 Temporal: 6.3 Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C Yes None Windows Server 2016 | 4480961 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) | 4480961 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server 2019 | 4480116 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) | 4480116 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server, version 1709 (Server Core Installation) | 4480978 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
| Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation) | 4480966 (Security Update) |
Important | Elevation of Privilege | Yes |
Patches
7 patches
| Article | Type | Restart |
|---|---|---|
4480962 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480961 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480973 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480978 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480966 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480116 |
Security Update | Yes |
4480963 |
Monthly Rollup | Yes |
Known Exploits
No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.
Acknowledgments
James Forshaw of Google Project Zero
References
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