Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw can let an authenticated attacker crash Windows LSASS remotely, forcing the target system to reboot. The business impact is service disruption, not data theft. Risk is highest for important Windows servers where unexpected reboots affect authentication, operations, or availability commitments.
Executive priority
Handle in the normal monthly patch cycle unless affected systems support critical authentication or availability-sensitive services. Escalate priority for unpatched servers where forced reboot would cause customer, operational, or security monitoring disruption.
Technical view
CVE-2019-0972 is an LSASS denial-of-service issue triggered by specially crafted authentication requests from an authenticated remote attacker. Successful exploitation causes LSASS denial of service and automatic system reboot. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5, with network attack vector, low privileges required, and high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Affected assets are listed Microsoft Windows clients and servers, including Windows 7, 8.1, Windows 10 versions 1507 through 1809, Windows Server 2008 SP2, 2016, and 2019, including Server Core variants. Exposure matters most where authenticated network users can reach Windows authentication services.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV status or active exploitation. The CVSS vector indicates proof-of-concept exploit maturity, but the source bundle does not provide exploit details. Treat this as an availability risk requiring patch verification, especially for business-critical Windows systems.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports a remote authenticated denial-of-service condition against LSASS, not privilege escalation or data compromise. The source bundle lacks CWE mapping, KB identifiers, exploit details, and active exploitation evidence, so analysis should remain bounded to patch verification and exposure management.
Mitigation direction
- Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2019-0972 on affected Windows systems.
- Prioritize domain controllers, authentication-dependent servers, and externally reachable Windows services.
- Reduce unnecessary network authentication exposure to affected Windows hosts.
- Review Microsoft guidance for exact updates and legacy operating-system support status.
- Monitor for unexpected LSASS failures and reboot patterns on affected systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Windows versions against the affected product list in the source bundle.
- Confirm the relevant Microsoft CVE-2019-0972 security update is installed.
- Check critical Windows servers for recent LSASS crash or reboot events.
- Verify legacy Windows assets have documented patch or compensating-control status.
- Confirm exposure assumptions with network segmentation and authentication-service reachability reviews.
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.
CVE-2019-0972 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:R
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.
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:N/I:N/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:R2.83.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.5MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:R
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Denial of Service VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-0972CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC, x_transferred
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.