CVE-2010-0249

Exp

Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 on Windows 2000 SP4; Windows XP SP2 and SP3; Windows Server 2003 SP2; Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2; Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, and R2; and Windows 7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by accessing a pointer associated with a deleted object, related to incorrectly initialized memory and improper handling of objects in memory, as exploited in the wild in December 2009 and January 2010 during Operation Aurora, aka "HTML Object Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

Published: 2010-01-15 Last update: 2026-05-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2010-0249 is rated Critical Active Threat (94.9/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 88.68%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2026-05-20) affecting Microsoft / Internet Explorer. a weakness (CWE-416) 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-2010-0249

Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer Use-After-Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2026-05-20

Action due: 2026-06-03

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2010-0249

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
16599 exploit_db edb 2010-07-12 Exploit-DB ↗
11167 exploit_db edb 2010-01-17 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2010-0249

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 2026-06-12 88.79% 88.68% -0.11%
2 2026-05-28 88.68% 88.79% +0.11%
3 2026-05-22 — 88.68% —

Full EPSS history (29 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2010-0249

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
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.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
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.
 8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2010-0249

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2010-0249

GHSA-x2mp-6fmq-52qw · Severity: high — Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 on Windows 2000...

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2010-0249

Comment: Per: http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.htmlhttp://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html CWE-416: Use After Free

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2010-0249

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft internet_explorer 5.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:5.0.1:sp4:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 6 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 6 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 7.0 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:7.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 8 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2010-0249

URL Tags
http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/14/security-advisory-979352.aspx Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10435232-245.html Broken Link
http://osvdb.org/61697 Broken Link
http://securitytracker.com/id?1023462 Broken Link Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979352 Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11167 Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/492515 Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979352.mspx Broken Link Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37815 Broken Link Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-055A.html Broken Link Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0135 Broken Link
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-002 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55642 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6835 Broken Link
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2010-0249 US Government Resource
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