How severe is CVE-2010-0232?

CVE-2010-0232 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2010-0232?

CVE-2010-0232 affects the following products: microsoft windows 7, microsoft windows 2000, microsoft windows xp.

How do I patch CVE-2010-0232?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2010-0232 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2010-0232 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2010-0232 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2010-0232 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 6 known exploit references for CVE-2010-0232, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 5 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2010-0232?

CVE-2010-0232 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 28.7%, placing it in the 98th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2010-0232 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2010-0232 (Microsoft Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-03-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-03-24. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2010-0232?

CVE-2010-0232 affects microsoft windows 7; microsoft windows 2000; microsoft windows xp. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2010-0232 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2010-0232 was published on January 21, 2010 and was last updated on June 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2010-0232 — Windows 7

HIGH

CVE-2010-0232 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in microsoft windows 7. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

The kernel in Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7, including Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Windows…

Published

Jan 21, 2010

Updated

Jun 16, 2026

Affected

3 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

6 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-03. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-03-24.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2010-0232.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

28.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs98th percentile — riskier than 98% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2010-0232 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

The kernel in Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7, including Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Windows Server 2008 Gold and SP2, when access to 16-bit applications is enabled on a 32-bit x86 platform, does not properly validate certain BIOS calls, which allows local users to gain privileges by crafting a VDM_TIB data structure in the Thread Environment Block (TEB), and then calling the NtVdmControl function to start the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (aka NTVDM) subsystem, leading to improperly handled exceptions involving the #GP trap handler (nt!KiTrap0D), aka "Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability."

Affected Products

3 products · 4 configurations

windows 7microsoft

all

windows 2000microsoft

all

windows xpmicrosoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-11199localwindows✓ Verified

Microsoft Windows NT/2000/2003/2008/XP/Vista/7 - 'KiTrap0D' User Mode to Ring Escalation (MS10-015)

by Tavis Ormandy · Jan 19, 2010

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2010-0232 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Cap what an attacker can consume: apply request size, rate and timeout limits in front of the affected component, and run it with memory and CPU limits so exhaustion degrades one worker rather than the whole service. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2010-0232 being exploited in your environment?

Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works