Local SYSTEM escalation via WER path redirection
Published Jul 11, 2023 · Updated Oct 21, 2025
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Error Reporting Service on affected Windows versions allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM. The WER service follows attacker-controlled filesystem redirection when loading a report and launches a substituted wermgr.exe. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and can grant complete system privileges.
Summary
What happened
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Error Reporting Service on affected Windows versions allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM. The WER service follows attacker-controlled filesystem redirection when loading a report and launches a substituted wermgr.exe. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and can grant complete system privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-36874
- Published
- Jul 11, 2023
- Updated
- Oct 21, 2025
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 10 Version 1507
- Classifications
- CWE-59, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 11, 2023Exploitation reportedCISA KEV listing
- Jul 11, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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=10.0.10240.0 <10.0.10240.20048
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
- Metasploit Windows Error Reporting LPE modulefunctional · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- CISA KEV listingknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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