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CVE-2014-1812

High 8.8 Exploited in the wild (KEV) Used in ransomware campaigns

Confirmed active exploitation — CISA KEV catalog

Name
Microsoft Windows Group Policy Preferences Password Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Added to catalog
Remediation due date (US federal)
Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

The Group Policy implementation in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2 does not properly handle distribution of passwords, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive credential information and consequently gain privileges by leveraging access to the SYSVOL share, as exploited in the wild in May 2014, aka "Group Policy Preferences Password Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
8.8 (HIGH) Score source: CNA CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS — exploit probability
65% (percentile: 99) as of 1 November 2026
CWE
CWE-255, CWE-522

Affected products

microsoft: windows 7; microsoft: windows 8; microsoft: windows 8.1; microsoft: windows server 2008; microsoft: windows server 2012; microsoft: windows vista

References