CriticalCVE-2019-1405

    Microsoft Windows Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) Service Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2019-1405)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) service improperly allows COM object creation, aka 'Windows UPnP Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. CISA lists it as used in ransomware campaigns. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Microsoft Windows eq 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1..7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
    • Microsoft Windows eq 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1..7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
    • Microsoft Windows eq 8.1 for 32-bit systems..8.1 for 32-bit systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 8.1 for x64-based systems..8.1 for x64-based systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq RT 8.1..RT 8.1
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 for 32-bit Systems..10 for 32-bit Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 for x64-based Systems..10 for x64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems..10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems..10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems..10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems..10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems..10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems..10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems..10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems..10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems..10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems..10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows eq 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems..10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Core installation)..2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1..2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1..2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)..2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2012..2012
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2012 (Core installation)..2012 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2012 R2..2012 R2
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2012 R2 (Core installation)..2012 R2 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2016..2016
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2016 (Core installation)..2016 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq version 1803 (Core Installation)..version 1803 (Core Installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2019..2019
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2019 (Core installation)..2019 (Core installation)
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2..2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2..2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2..2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
    • Microsoft Windows Server eq 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)..2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)

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    Metrics

    7.8

    Priority

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

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    7.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    30.2 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.2

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    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
    241.16 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
    actively exploited
    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
    7.8 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
    7.8
    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
    30.2 %
    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
    98.2
    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
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    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
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 14 March 2022
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-269

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    Exploitation requires an existing low-privilege foothold, but from there it is low-complexity, needs no user interaction and delivers full compromise of confidentiality, integrity and availability. With public exploit code and CISA's known-ransomware-use flag, it is an established post-exploitation tool: operators use it after phishing or VPN initial access to gain SYSTEM, kill EDR and dump credentials, and its exploitation likelihood is rated very high. For estates fully patched on current Windows builds the residual risk is low; it becomes critical wherever legacy Windows 10 builds linger — production, OT-adjacent or kiosk systems in particular — and those should be hardened immediately and updated or replaced as a high priority.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Verify patch level: check every Windows 10 system on builds 1507, 1607, 1709 and 1803 (including LTSB/LTSC editions) for the November 2019 cumulative security update or later. Patch available from the vendor — look up the per-build KB number in Microsoft's advisory for CVE-2019-1405. Query via Get-HotFix or your MECM/Intune compliance report.
      • Identify unsupported builds: 1507, 1709 and 1803 are end-of-life outside the LTSC channels. Inventory these assets, schedule migration, and tag them as high-risk until replaced.
      • On unpatched hosts, disable the UPnP Device Host service: Set-Service upnphost -StartupType Disabled; Stop-Service upnphost -Force — and also SSDPSRV (SSDP Discovery) where there is no business dependency. Roll out at scale via GPO (Computer Configuration → System Services).
      • Treat it as a ransomware stage: wherever you have signs of initial access (phishing, compromised VPN accounts), hunt the affected hosts for privilege escalation, since this flaw is typically used right after initial access to reach SYSTEM.
      • Check UsoSvc integrity: public exploits (COMahawk) chain CVE-2019-1405 with CVE-2019-1322 and overwrite UsoSvc's ImagePath. Run sc qc usosvc on suspect hosts — the binary path must point to svchost.exe -k netsvcs.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Configuration hardening: disable upnphost and SSDPSRV by default in your baseline (CIS Benchmark, Microsoft security baseline) on clients and servers; enterprise networks almost never need UPnP.
      • Application control: WDAC or AppLocker rules blocking unsigned binaries from user-writable paths (%TEMP%, %APPDATA%, C:\Users\Public, Downloads) — public PoCs are dropped and run as standalone EXEs.
      • IAM / least privilege: remove local admin rights, deploy LAPS or Windows LAPS, and enforce an admin tiering model so a local escalation does not immediately yield privileged domain credentials for lateral movement; enable Credential Guard.
      • Endpoint hardening: EDR in block mode with tamper protection; block or alert on modification of service configuration keys (HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\*\ImagePath) by anything other than system processes.
      • Network segmentation: the attack vector is local, so segmentation won't stop exploitation itself, but it limits blast radius — block SSDP (UDP 1900) and UPnP HTTP traffic between client VLANs and deny workstation-to-workstation SMB/RDP.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Sysmon EID 13 / registry auditing: writes to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsoSvc\ImagePath by any process other than services.exe or TrustedInstaller. Sigma shape: TargetObject|endswith: '\Services\UsoSvc\ImagePath' with Image not in allowlist.
      • Process ancestry (EDR / Sysmon EID 1 / Security 4688): child processes (cmd.exe, powershell.exe, rundll32.exe, unknown EXEs) of the svchost.exe instance whose command line contains -s upnphost or -k LocalServiceAndNoImpersonation. KQL: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFileName =~ "svchost.exe" and InitiatingProcessCommandLine has "upnphost" and FileName in~ ("cmd.exe","powershell.exe","rundll32.exe").
      • Service tampering: System event 7040 (start type changed) and 7045 / Security 4697 (service installed) involving UsoSvc, plus sc.exe config usosvc binpath= on the command line. SPL: index=wineventlog CommandLine="*sc*config*usosvc*binpath*".
      • Escalation context: a process running at System integrity (Sysmon EID 1 IntegrityLevel=System) whose ancestry traces back to a low/medium-integrity user session — often followed by local admin account creation (Security 4720/4732).
      • Unexpected start of upnphost (System event 7036) on hosts where the baseline should have it disabled.

    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
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    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
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    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

    An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) service improperly allows COM object creation, aka 'Windows UPnP Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

    Source: CISA KEV Catalog, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)

    Affected products

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

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    MicrosoftWindows
    • 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems
    • 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems
    • RT 8.1
    • 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems
    • 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems
    • 10 for 32-bit Systems
    • 10 for x64-based Systems
    • 8.1 for 32-bit systems
    • 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems
    • 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
    • 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
    • 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
    • 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
    • 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems
    • 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems
    • 8.1 for x64-based systems
    • 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems
    • 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems
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    MicrosoftWindows Server
    • 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2
    • 2012 R2
    • 2019
    • 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)
    • 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
    • 2012 (Core installation)
    • 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Core installation)
    • 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
    • 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1
    • 2012
    • 2012 R2 (Core installation)
    • 2019 (Core installation)
    • 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Core installation)
    • 2016 (Core installation)
    • 2016
    • version 1803 (Core Installation)
    • 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
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    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1507—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1607—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1709—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1803—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1809—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_10_1903—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_7—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_8.1—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_rt_8.1—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_1803—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_1903—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2008r2
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2008—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2012r2
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2012—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2016—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_server_2019—

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-269Improper Privilege Management

      Class

      The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-269

    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
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Packet StormMicrosoft UPnP Local Privilege Elevation (opens in a new tab)packetstormsecurity.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

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