Security Resilience

CVE-2012-0151

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD Exploited
Published
10 April 2012
Modified
22 April 2026
KEV Added
08 June 2022
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.88 99.8th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2012-0151 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

The vulnerability is an improper input validation flaw (CWE-20) in the Authenticode Signature Verification function, also known as WinVerifyTrust, that fails to correctly validate the digest of a signed portable executable (PE) file. It affects 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.

User-assisted remote attackers can exploit the issue by supplying a modified signed PE file containing additional content, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the target system. The attack requires local access with user interaction and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8 with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS12-024, along with US-CERT TA12-101A and related advisories, addresses the flaw through available patches that correct the signature validation logic in the affected Windows components.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

The Authenticode Signature Verification function 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…

more

validate the digest of a signed portable executable (PE) file, which allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a modified file with additional content, aka "WinVerifyTrust Signature Validation Vulnerability."

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
08 June 2022

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2011-3402Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2010-4398Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2010-2568Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2013-1347Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2011-0657Same product: Microsoft Windows 7
CVE-2010-3962Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2012-4792Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2012-4969Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2010-0806Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV
CVE-2010-0249Same product: Microsoft Windows 7both on KEV

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 7
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2003
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows vista
all versions
microsoft
windows xp
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and developer training directly verify and enforce proper input validation, reducing exploitability of injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-20

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates security requirements, secure coding guidelines, checkpoints, testing (incl. code scans) and developer training in the SDLC, which reaches a slice of input validation defects but leaves the majority (incomplete enforcement, second-order inputs, parser differentials, post-validation canonicalization) unaddressed as in the SA-3 and A.8.28 anchors.

blocks

Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

blocks

Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.

finds

Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-20, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References