Microsoft Windows Group Policy Preferences Password Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2014-1812)
Severity: high · Patch status: patched · Since 2021-11-03 · CVE-2014-1812
Microsoft Windows Active Directory contains a privilege escalation vulnerability due to the way it distributes passwords that are configured using Group Policy preferences. An authenticated attacker who successfully exploits the vulnerability could decrypt the passwords and use them to elevate privileges on the domain. CISA added CVE-2014-1812 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Nov 3, 2021, which means attackers are exploiting it in the wild. CISA reports known use in ransomware campaigns.
What to do
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- US federal agencies must remediate by May 3, 2022 (BOD 22-01); treat that as the outer limit.
Sources
All live incidents on Threat Watch
