SYSTEM privilege escalation via kernel pointer dereference
Published Jun 13, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025
Untrusted pointer dereference in Microsoft's mskssrv driver allows local users on affected Windows builds to gain SYSTEM privileges. FsAllocAndLockMdl passes an attacker-controlled address to MmProbeAndLockPages as KernelMode, then another driver request maps the resulting MDL writable in user space. Exploitation requires local code execution; successful abuse permits direct kernel-memory modification and arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM.
Summary
What happened
Untrusted pointer dereference in Microsoft's mskssrv driver allows local users on affected Windows builds to gain SYSTEM privileges. FsAllocAndLockMdl passes an attacker-controlled address to MmProbeAndLockPages as KernelMode, then another driver request maps the resulting MDL writable in user space. Exploitation requires local code execution; successful abuse permits direct kernel-memory modification and arbitrary code execution as SYSTEM.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-29360
- Published
- Jun 13, 2023
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- CWE-822, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jun 13, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 29, 2024Exploitation reportedCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog listing
- Oct 21, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.4499
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Nero22k CVE-2023-29360 exploitfunctional · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog listingknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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