CVE-2012-0181
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008…
- 7.2HighCVSS base score
- 3.4%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 11% of all CVEs
- NoKnown exploitednot in CISA's KEV catalog
- 1Public exploitsMetasploit, Nuclei and Exploit-DB
Description
win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, R2, and R2 SP1, Windows 7 Gold and SP1, and Windows 8 Consumer Preview does not properly manage Keyboard Layout files, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Keyboard Layout File Vulnerability."
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. The public collections list an Exploit-DB entry for it.
Show the exploits1
Exploit-DB1 entry
- Microsoft Windows XP - Keyboard Layouts Pool Corruption (PoC) (MS12-034) (Exploit-DB entry) (opens in a new tab)
EDB-ID 18894dos, windowspublished 18 May 2012Verified
Modules, templates and exploits as listed by the Metasploit Framework (BSD-3-Clause), ProjectDiscovery's Nuclei templates (MIT) and the Exploit Database (GPLv2), read once a day. Where the data comes from
Timeline
ID reserved
By microsoft
- 5 months later
· 5 months later
Published
- 12 years later
· 12 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDNVD · Modified | 2.0 | High7.2 | AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 3.4% · top 11% of all CVEs (9 Nov 2026)
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.2.
Affected products
n/a
- affected n/a
References
4
- 1027039 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:15355 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entrysignaturex_refsource_OVALx_transferred
- MS12-034 (opens in a new tab)vendor-advisoryx_refsource_MSx_transferred
- TA12-129A (opens in a new tab)third-party-advisoryx_refsource_CERTx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- EUVD EUVD-2012-0219 (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2012-0181)Record last updated .