CVE-2014-4148 — Windows 7
HIGHCVE-2014-4148 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Code Injection vulnerability in microsoft windows 7. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-25) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server…
Exploitation Status
Actively exploited in the wild
- Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-05-25. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-06-15.
- 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-2014-4148.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2014-4148 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Description
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TrueType font, as exploited in the wild in October 2014, aka "TrueType Font Parsing Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."
Affected Products
windows 7microsoftwindows 8microsoftwindows 8.1microsoftwindows rtmicrosoftwindows rt 8.1microsoftwindows server 2003microsoftResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 S…
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 S…
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 S…
Detection & mitigation playbook
Vendor / applianceDetect
Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2014-4148 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2014-4148 being exploited in your environment?
Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.