CVE-2019-1188 — LNK Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Executive Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows that could allow remote code execution if a .LNK file is processed. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. The attacker could present to the user a removable drive, or remote share, that contains a malicious .LNK file and an associated malicious binary. When the user opens this drive(or remote share) in Windows Explorer, or any other application that parses the .LNK file, the malicious binary will execute code of the attacker’s choice, on the target system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the processing of shortcut LNK references.

Overview

7.5

CVSS HIGH

Critical

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

Less Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Remote Code Execution

Released Aug 13 2019

Last Updated Aug 13 2019

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.03766 — 0.88513 percentile

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR

Network

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

High

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

None

USER INTERACTION

Required

SCOPE

Unchanged

Temporal Score: 6.7

EPSS Score

0.03766

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.88513 percentile - updated 2026-06-20

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

16 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`4512516 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems	`4512516 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems	`4512516 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems	`4512501 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems	`4512501 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems	`4512501 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems	`4511553 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems	`4511553 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems	`4511553 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems	`4512508 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems	`4512508 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems	`4512508 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server 2019	`4511553 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)	`4511553 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation)	`4512501 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation)	`4512508 (Security Update)`	Critical	Remote Code Execution	Yes

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4512516`	Security Update	Yes
`4512501`	Security Update	Yes
`4511553`	Security Update	Yes
`4512508`	Security Update	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

@_L4ys ) of Team T5

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD