Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2014-1812 lets any authenticated domain user read sensitive password material exposed through Windows Group Policy Preferences in SYSVOL. Because those credentials can enable privilege gain, this is a serious Active Directory hygiene issue, especially in legacy domains or environments with old GPP password settings.
Executive priority
Prioritize for legacy Windows and Active Directory environments. This is a known-exploited credential exposure path that can turn ordinary domain access into broader compromise.
Technical view
The flaw is in Windows Group Policy handling of password distribution. A remote authenticated user with SYSVOL access can obtain credential information and use it for elevation of privilege. The CVE lists Windows Vista SP2, Server 2008 SP2/R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1, and Server 2012/R2.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in Active Directory domains that used Group Policy Preferences to configure passwords, especially older environments retaining legacy GPP artifacts in SYSVOL.
Exploitation context
The CVE description says it was exploited in the wild in May 2014, and the source bundle marks it as CISA KEV. Treat confirmed exposure as urgent even though the issue is old.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated network exploitation through SYSVOL and privilege gain from exposed credentials. The bundle does not provide detailed current exploit tooling or complete remediation text, so validation should stay focused on GPP password artifacts and Microsoft advisory guidance.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Microsoft guidance and update MS14-025 where applicable.
- Check vendor guidance for removing legacy exposed Group Policy Preference password material.
- Rotate any credentials that may have been distributed through Group Policy Preferences.
- Review domain privileges tied to any discovered exposed accounts.
Validation and detection
- Search SYSVOL Group Policy Preference content for stored password artifacts.
- Confirm affected Windows versions have the MS14-025 update or later protections.
- Identify accounts referenced by legacy Group Policy Preferences.
- Verify those account passwords were rotated after any cleanup.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-522: Credential and account abuse lookup
Authentication and credential weaknesses can make valid-account abuse and credential telemetry useful review starting points. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2014-1812 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- MS14-025CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_MS
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2014-1812CVE reference · government-resource
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Insufficiently Protected Credentials
Insufficiently Protected Credentials represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.