CVE-2014-4113 — Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

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 local users to gain privileges via a craft

01What is this vulnerability?

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 local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, as exploited in the wild in October 2014, aka "Win32k.sys Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
n	a / n/a	n/a

03Active exploitation status

Yes — actively exploited. Added to the CISA KEV catalog on 2022-05-04. Ransomware use: Unknown.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Open the Sigma generator with a pre-filled prompt for this CVE to draft a starting detection in your stack of choice:

Open in Sigma generator →

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2014-10-15T10:00:00.000Z
• Last modified: 2025-10-22T00:05:35.545Z
• Added to CISA KEV: 2022-05-04
• BOD 22-01 due: 2022-05-25

09References

• blogs.technet.com — http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/10/14/accessing-risk-for-the-october…
• packetstormsecurity.com — http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/131964/Windows-8.0-8.1-x64-TrackPopupMenu-P…
• secunia.com — http://secunia.com/advisories/60970
• www.exploit-db.com — https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/37064/
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70364
• osvdb.org — http://osvdb.org/show/osvdb/113167
• docs.microsoft.com — https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-05…
• www.exploit-db.com — https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39666/
• www.exploit-db.com — http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/35101
• github.com — https://github.com/sam-b/CVE-2014-4113
• blog.trendmicro.com — http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/an-analysis-of-a-wind…