CVE-2002-0367: Microsoft Windows Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Mar 2022, 6,910 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 4.9%
EPSS score, percentile 92.1 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
CISA deadline 24 Mar 2022. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA due date for this action: 24 March 2022.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
smss.exe debugging subsystem in Microsoft Windows does not properly authenticate programs that connect to other programs, which allows local users to gain administrator or SYSTEM privileges.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2002-0367 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Mar 2022.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 24 Mar 2022.
- The CVE record was published on 2 Apr 2003, 6,910 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 4.9% (percentile 92.1), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
smss.exe debugging subsystem in Windows NT and Windows 2000 does not properly authenticate programs that connect to other programs, which allows local users to gain administrator or SYSTEM privileges by duplicating a handle to a privileged process, as demonstrated by DebPloit.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 Apr 2003 | CVE record published |
| 3 Mar 2022 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 24 Mar 2022 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 22 Oct 2025 | CVE record last updated |
References
- 4287
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:76
- win-debug-duplicate-handles(8462)
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:158
- 20020326 Re: DebPloit (exploit)
- 20020314 DebPloit (exploit)
- 20020327 Local Security Vulnerability in Windows NT and Windows 2000
- 20020314 Fwd: DebPloit (exploit)
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