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Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2014-6324
CVE-2014-6324 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

Microsoft Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) vulnerability

The Kerberos KDC in Microsoft allows authenticated domain users to escalate privileges to domain administrator level through a flaw in the authentication mechanism.

Verdict

Today item — known-exploited.

Authenticated domain users can exploit a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Kerberos Key Distribution Center to gain domain administrator access, enabling complete compromise of Active Directory infrastructure and all connected systems.

CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-253EPSS 0.87448 (verify live)4
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Reported exploitation
9 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25).
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.87448 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Microsoft, Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC). Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-264 Permissions/Privileges/Access Control — weakness family: Authorization / access control.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
WeaknessCWE-264 · Permissions/Privileges/Access ControlAuthorization / access control
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I authenticate to the domain as a standard user with valid credentials.
Business
An insider or compromised standard user account becomes a pivot point for lateral movement.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I exploit the KDC vulnerability to escalate my privileges to domain administrator level.
Business
Administrative access is obtained without detection of privilege grant through normal channels.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I gain full control over the Active Directory infrastructure and all domain-joined systems.
Business
Complete compromise of the organization's identity and access management system, enabling data theft, system manipulation, and persistent backdoor installation.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • 9 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Catalogued by microsoft (CNA)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • No finder/reporter credit recorded in the public CVE entry — the work behind this find is unattributed.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by microsoftCNA
    Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.