Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2019-1315
CVE-2019-1315
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Microsoft Windows vulnerability
Windows Error Reporting manager improperly handles hard links, allowing privilege escalation through file overwrite. Exploited in ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
A local privilege escalation flaw in Windows Error Reporting enables attackers to overwrite system files via hard link manipulation. Active exploitation in ransomware operations demonstrates real-world threat.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
3 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 2022-03-15), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.03478 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Microsoft, Windows. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-59 Link Following — weakness family: Path traversal / file.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution 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 board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a hard link pointing to a privileged system file that Windows Error Reporting will write to during error handling.
Business
An attacker gains local code execution with elevated privileges on affected Windows systems.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I trigger an error condition that causes Windows Error Reporting to overwrite the target file through my hard link.
Business
Critical system files are corrupted or replaced, compromising system integrity and control.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I use elevated privileges to deploy ransomware or establish persistent backdoor access across the network.
Business
Ransomware operators encrypt business data and demand payment; operational systems become unavailable.
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