CVE-2014-1812
The Group Policy implementation in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2 does not properly handle distribution of passwords, which allows remote authenticated users to obtain sensitive credential information and consequently gain privileges by leveraging access to the SYSVOL share, as exploited in the wild in May 2014, aka "Group Policy Preferences Password Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."
ACTIVELY EXPLOITED IN THE WILD
This vulnerability is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
Microsoft Windows Group Policy Preferences Password Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Microsoft Windows
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
11/3/2021
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-1812
Vulnerability Summary
CVSS v3 Score
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v2 Score
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
EPSS Score (Exploitation Probability)
This vulnerability has a 74.63% probability of being exploited in the next 30 days, ranking higher than 99% of all scored CVEs.
CWE Classification
Related Vulnerabilities
Same Weakness Type(CWE-255)
VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP) 5.5.x though 6.1.x has an SSH private key with a publicly known password, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain login access via an SSH session.
Apache Axis2, as used in dswsbobje.war in SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.2, CA ARCserve D2D r15, and other products, has a default password of axis2 for the admin account, which makes it easier for remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by uploading a crafted web service.
IBM Cognos Express 9.0 allows attackers to obtain unspecified access to the Tomcat Manager component, and cause a denial of service, by leveraging hardcoded credentials.
The Windows installer for Apache Tomcat 6.0.0 through 6.0.20, 5.5.0 through 5.5.28, and possibly earlier versions uses a blank default password for the administrative user, which allows remote attackers to gain privileges.
Windows NT RRAS and RAS clients cache a user's password even if the user has not selected the "Save password" option.
Similar SeverityHIGH
Improper link resolution before file access ('link following') in Microsoft Defender allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Improper neutralization of input during web page generation ('cross-site scripting') in Microsoft Exchange Server allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network.
An Improper Input Validation in Ivanti EPMM before versions 12.6.1.1, 12.7.0.1, and 12.8.0.1 allows a remotely authenticated user with administrative access to achieve remote code execution.
OpenClaw before 2026.4.22 contains a server-side request forgery vulnerability in the Zalo plugin's sendPhoto function that fails to validate outbound photo URLs through the SSRF guard. Attackers can bypass SSRF protection by providing malicious photo URLs to the Zalo Bot API, enabling unauthorized access to internal resources.
OpenClaw before 2026.4.22 contains an exec allowlist analysis vulnerability allowing shell expansion hiding in unquoted heredoc bodies. Attackers can bypass allowlist validation by embedding shell expansion tokens in heredoc bodies to execute unapproved commands at runtime.
Learn More
View this score breakdown or calculate a custom score
Learn how severity scores are calculated and what they mean
Best practices for deciding which vulnerabilities to address first
Essential guide to Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
Understand how CVEs relate to underlying weakness types