Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-1040 lets a network man-in-the-middle weaken protections in Windows NTLM authentication. Successful exploitation could allow tampering with NTLM security flags, affecting integrity rather than confidentiality or availability. Microsoft rates it medium, but it matters in environments that still depend on NTLM.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate-priority Windows hardening issue. It is not cited as actively exploited in the provided sources, but it can weaken authentication integrity where NTLM remains in use.
Technical view
The flaw is a Windows NTLM tampering issue where an attacker positioned in the NTLM exchange can bypass MIC protection and alter NTLM packet flags without invalidating the signature. Microsoft’s fix hardens server-side NTLM MIC protection. The CVSS vector indicates network attack, high complexity, no privileges, and user interaction required.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in organizations running listed Windows versions that still use NTLM authentication, including Windows 7, 8.1, multiple Windows 10 releases, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires tampering with an NTLM exchange as a man-in-the-middle and is rated high complexity with user interaction required.
Researcher notes
Focus analysis on NTLM MIC enforcement and downgrade resistance after Microsoft’s server-side hardening. Evidence is limited to vendor and CVE records; no public exploit status or detailed detection guidance is provided in the bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Apply Microsoft’s security update for CVE-2019-1040 to affected Windows systems.
- Review MSRC guidance for product-specific update availability and supersedence.
- Prioritize systems participating in NTLM authentication flows.
- Validate NTLM-dependent applications after patching.
- Track remaining unsupported or unpatched affected Windows versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Windows versions and builds against the affected product list.
- Confirm CVE-2019-1040 remediation is present in patch management records.
- Identify services and endpoints still using NTLM authentication.
- Check whether NTLM authentication crosses untrusted network paths.
- Review authentication issues after patch deployment.
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-2019-1040 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
- 5.3 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
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:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:P/RL:O/RC:C1.63.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.3MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- Windows NTLM Tampering VulnerabilityCVE reference · vendor-advisory
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-1040CVE 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.
