CVE DATABASE / CVE-2010-0249
CVE-2010-0249
Microsoft Internet Explorer Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2026-05-20.
Federal remediation due 2026-06-03.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Summary
Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 on Windows 2000 SP4; Windows XP SP2 and SP3; Windows Server 2003 SP2; Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2; Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, and R2; and Windows 7 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by accessing a pointer associated with a deleted object, related to incorrectly initialized memory and improper handling of objects in memory, as exploited in the wild in December 2009 and January 2010 during Operation Aurora, aka "HTML Object Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
CVSS 3.1 breakdown
| Base score | 8.8 (HIGH) |
| Vector | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| Attack vector | NETWORK |
| Attack complexity | LOW |
| Privileges required | NONE |
| User interaction | REQUIRED |
| Scope | UNCHANGED |
| Confidentiality | HIGH |
| Integrity | HIGH |
| Availability | HIGH |
Weakness type (CWE)
Affected products
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References
- http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/14/security-advisory-979352.aspx
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10435232-245.html
- http://osvdb.org/61697
- http://securitytracker.com/id?1023462
- http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979352
- http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11167
- http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/492515
- http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979352.mspx
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37815
- http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-055A.html
- http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0135
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2010/ms10-002
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55642
- https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A6835
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2010-0249
Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2026-05-21. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.