CVE-2012-0148 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE
afd.sys in the Ancillary Function Driver in Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, R2, and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 Gold and SP1 on 64-bit platforms does not properly validate user-mode input passed to kernel mode, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "AfdPoll Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/20/2021
The CVE-2012-0148 vulnerability represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within the Ancillary Function Driver (afd.sys) component of Microsoft Windows operating systems. This vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions including Windows xp service pack 2, windows server 2003 service pack 2, windows vista service pack 2, windows server 2008 service pack 2 and r2, windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1, and windows 7 gold and service pack 1 on 64-bit platforms. The flaw resides in how the afd.sys driver handles user-mode input that gets passed to kernel mode, creating a dangerous condition where malicious applications can exploit this improper validation mechanism.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the kernel-mode driver component. When applications interact with the ancillary function driver, user-mode data is passed through to kernel space without proper sanitization or validation checks. This allows local malicious users to craft specific inputs that can manipulate the driver's behavior and ultimately escalate their privileges from standard user level to system level access. The vulnerability specifically impacts the AfdPoll function within the driver, which handles asynchronous file descriptor polling operations. This represents a classic kernel exploitation vector where user-space applications can influence kernel execution through malformed input parameters.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant threat to system security as it enables local privilege escalation attacks. An attacker with low-privilege user access can leverage this flaw to gain full system privileges, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects widely deployed operating systems and requires no network connectivity for exploitation, making it a local attack vector that can be executed from within the target system. Once exploited, attackers can perform actions such as installing malware, modifying system files, accessing sensitive data, and establishing persistent access to the compromised system. The impact extends beyond individual system compromise to potentially affect entire network infrastructures when exploited in multi-system environments.
The vulnerability aligns with common weakness enumerations such as cwe-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and cwe-787, which covers out-of-bounds write conditions, though it specifically manifests as a privilege escalation rather than direct memory corruption. From the attack tactics perspective, this vulnerability maps to the privilege escalation technique in the mitre att&ck framework, specifically targeting the 'privilege escalation' tactic with the 'token manipulation' and 'exploitation for privilege escalation' techniques. The attack chain typically involves a local user executing a specially crafted application that exploits the input validation flaw in afd.sys to elevate privileges. Microsoft addressed this vulnerability through security updates that corrected the input validation mechanisms within the ancillary function driver, emphasizing the importance of proper kernel-mode input validation in preventing local privilege escalation attacks.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems and implement additional security controls such as privilege separation, application whitelisting, and monitoring for suspicious privilege escalation activities. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of kernel-mode security validation and proper input sanitization in preventing local privilege escalation attacks. Security teams should also consider implementing behavioral monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts of similar kernel vulnerabilities and maintain updated threat intelligence regarding related attack patterns. This vulnerability serves as a reminder of the ongoing need for robust kernel security measures and the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches across all supported operating systems to prevent exploitation of known privilege escalation vulnerabilities.