CVE-2010-0232

Exp

The kernel in Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7, including Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Windows Server 2008 Gold and SP2, when access to 16-bit applications is enabled on a 32-bit x86 platform, does not properly validate certain BIOS calls, which allows local users to gain privileges by crafting a VDM_TIB data structure in the Thread Environment Block (TEB), and then calling the NtVdmControl function to start the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (aka NTVDM) subsystem, leading to improperly handled exceptions involving the #GP trap handler (nt!KiTrap0D), aka "Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability."

Published: 2010-01-21 Last update: 2026-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2010-0232 is rated Critical Active Threat (85.5/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 29.25%, 98th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-03) affecting Microsoft / Windows. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2010-0232

Name: Microsoft Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-03

Action due: 2022-03-24

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2010-0232

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
11199 exploit_db edb 2010-01-19 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2010-0232

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 75.20% 29.25% -45.94%
2 2026-06-10 75.54% 75.20% -0.35%
3 2026-05-28 — 75.54% —

Full EPSS history (31 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2010-0232

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.2 2.0 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 3.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2010-0232

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2010-0232

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_2000 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_2000:-:sp4:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_7 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:*:*:*:*:*:x86:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:*:*:-:*:*:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2010-0232

URL Tags
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/20/security-advisory-979682-released.aspx Broken Link
http://lists.immunitysec.com/pipermail/dailydave/2010-January/006000.html Broken Link
http://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/c0af0967d904cef2ad4db766a00bc6af/KiTrap0D.zip Broken Link Exploit
http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2010/Jan/341 Exploit Mailing List Third Party Advisory
http://secunia.com/advisories/38265 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023471 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979682.mspx Broken Link Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/509106/100/0/threaded Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37864 Broken Link Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-040A.html Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0179 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-015 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55742 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A8344 Broken Link
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2010-0232 US Government Resource
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