CVE-2019-1181 | Remote Desktop Services Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Remote Desktop Services – formerly known as Terminal Services – when an unauthenticated attacker connects to the target system using RDP and sends specially crafted requests. This vulnerability is pre-authentication and requires no user interaction. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code on the target system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to send a specially crafted request to the target systems Remote Desktop Service via RDP. The update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how Remote Desktop Services handles connection requests.

Published: 2019-08-14 Last update: 2026-02-20 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2019-1181 is rated High Risk (73.6/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 78.03%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-1181

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 2026-05-30 78.25% 78.03% -0.21%
2 2026-05-12 77.13% 78.25% +1.12%
3 2026-05-01 77.13%

Full EPSS history (40 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-1181

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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: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.
3.9 5.9 [email protected]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/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: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.
10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-1181

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-1181

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_10 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1607 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1607:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1703 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1703:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1709 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1709:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1803 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1803:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1809 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1809:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1903 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1903:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_7 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_rt_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 1803 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:1803:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 1903 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:1903:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2019 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-1181

cvelogic Threat Intelligence