Microsoft Windows null pointer dereference

CVSS Meta Temp Score
CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.
Current Exploit Price (≈)
Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.
CTI Interest Score
Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Microsoft Windows. It has been classified as problematic. The impacted element is an unknown function. This manipulation causes null pointer dereference. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2011-1227. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Microsoft Windows (Operating System) (unknown version). Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown code block. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a null pointer dereference vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-476. A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, R2, and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 Gold and SP1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application that triggers a NULL pointer dereference, a different vulnerability than other "Vulnerability Type 2" CVEs listed in MS11-034, aka "Win32k Null Pointer De-reference Vulnerability."

The weakness was disclosed 04/12/2011 by Tarjei Mandt with Norman (Website). The advisory is shared at us-cert.gov. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2011-1227. The exploitation appears to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. The requirement for exploitation is a single authentication. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/15/2025).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 53391 (MS11-034: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2506223)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows : Microsoft Bulletins. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 90701 (Microsoft Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (MS11-034)).

A possible mitigation has been published before and not just after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (66409), Tenable (53391), SecurityFocus (BID 47227†), OSVDB (71732†) and SecurityTracker (ID 1025345†). The entries VDB-4336, VDB-54584, VDB-56176 and VDB-56475 are pretty similar. Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Vendor

Name

License

Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.8

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
💳💳💳💳💳💳
VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
UnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Null pointer dereference
CWE: CWE-476 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-DayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock
TodayUnlockUnlockUnlockUnlock

Nessus ID: 53391
Nessus Name: MS11-034: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (2506223)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 900283
OpenVAS Name: Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers Privilege Elevation Vulnerabilities (2506223)
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: no mitigation known
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

03/04/2011 🔍
04/12/2011 +39 days 🔍
04/12/2011 +0 days 🔍
04/12/2011 +0 days 🔍
04/12/2011 +0 days 🔍
04/12/2011 +0 days 🔍
04/13/2011 +0 days 🔍
04/13/2011 +0 days 🔍
03/23/2015 +1440 days 🔍
05/15/2025 +3706 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com
Product: microsoft.com

Advisory: us-cert.gov
Researcher: Tarjei Mandt
Organization: Norman
Status: Not defined
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2011-1227 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2011-1227
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-57097

OVAL: 🔍

X-Force: 66409
SecurityFocus: 47227 - Microsoft Windows Kernel 'Win32k.sys' (CVE-2011-1227) Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Secunia: 44156
OSVDB: 71732 - Microsoft Windows win32k.sys Driver Null Pointer De-reference Unspecified Local Privilege Escalation (2011-1227)
SecurityTracker: 1025345
Vulnerability Center: 31061 - [MS11-034] Microsoft Windows Win32k Null Pointer Dereference Privilege Escalation (CVE-2011-1227), High

See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 03/23/2015 16:50
Updated: 05/15/2025 15:52
Changes: 03/23/2015 16:50 (61), 04/07/2017 16:05 (10), 11/02/2021 13:34 (5), 11/02/2021 13:41 (1), 01/18/2025 19:25 (16), 05/15/2025 15:52 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Discussion

No comments yet. Languages: en.

Please log in to comment.

◂ PreviousOverviewNext ▸

Might our Artificial Intelligence support you?

Check our Alexa App!