HighCVE-2019-1149

Microsoft Graphics Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2019-1149)

Published 14.08.2019Sources: CVE.org

Public exploit

What is affected, what to do

An exploit is publicly available. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below.

Affected: Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1703 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1803 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation) gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1709 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation) gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) gte 10.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows 7 gte 6.1.0..*
Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 gte 6.1.0..*
Microsoft Windows 8.1 gte 6.3.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 gte 6.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) gte 6.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Systems Service Pack 1 gte 6.1.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 gte 6.1.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation) gte 6.0.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 gte 6.2.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) gte 6.2.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 gte 6.3.0..*
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) gte 6.3.0..*
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac gte 16.0.0..*

Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

Metrics

8.8

Priority

XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

8.8

CVSS v3

Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

Source: CVE.org

13.9 %

EPSS score

Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 96.5

Show all metrics

Severity: High
Priority (0–325) The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first? Read in glossary: 118.53 Methodology
Exploit maturity An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack. Read in glossary: PoC (publicly reported)
XIEM Effective CVSS XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command. Read in glossary: 8.8 Methodology
CVSS v3 CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions. Read in glossary: 8.8
EPSS score The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“. Read in glossary: 13.9 %; Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking. Read in glossary: 96.5; Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching. Read in glossary: —
Published: 14.08.2019

Detection rules

No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

Classification under NIS2 and CRA

Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

NIS2 NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management. Read in glossary: High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates. Read in glossary: From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001 ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security. Read in glossary: Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

Description

A remote code execution vulnerability exists when the Windows font library improperly handles specially crafted embedded fonts. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could take control of the affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. 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. There are multiple ways an attacker could exploit the vulnerability: In a web-based attack scenario, an attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit the vulnerability and then convince users to view the website. An attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an email or instant message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by opening an attachment sent through email. In a file-sharing attack scenario, an attacker could provide a specially crafted document file designed to exploit the vulnerability and then convince users to open the document file. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows font library handles embedded fonts.

Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5

Affected products

The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

Affected products
		Affected versions	Fixed in
Microsoft	Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac	`≥ 16.0.0`	—
microsoft	office	`2019`	—

Vendors and products

Affected operating systems

Affected operating systems

Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1507	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1607	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1703	`1703`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1709	`1709`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`1709`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1803	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1809	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems	`1903`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems	`1903`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems	`1903`
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 7	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 7 Service Pack 1	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows 8.1	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2008 R2 Systems Service Pack 1	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2012	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2012 R2	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2016	—
Windows	Microsoft	Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)	—

Public exploit references

Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

Public exploit references

Packet Storm	Microsoft Font Subsetting DLL FixSbitSubTables Heap Corruption (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.com	PoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified	—

References & sources

portal.msrc.microsoft.comen-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-1149x_refsource_MISC, Patch, Vendor advisory
packetstormsecurity.comfiles/154086/Microsoft-Font-Subsetting-DLL-FixSbitSubTables-Hea…x_refsource_MISC, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database

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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2019-1149"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2019-1149.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2019-1149 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>