---
id: "CVE-2010-0232"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2010-0232"]
title: "Microsoft Windows: Microsoft Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability"
severity: "high"
cvss: 7.8
epss: 0.28735
exploited: true
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: [{"name": "Microsoft Windows", "fixed": [], "affected": "", "ecosystem": "vendor"}]
ecosystems: ["vendor"]
tags: ["32-bit-x86", "exploited", "infrastructure", "windows"]
not_affected_if: ["64-bit-only-windows", "no-16-bit-app-support"]
published_at: "2010-01-21T19:30:00+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "kev", "url": "https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2010-0232", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2010-0232", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00"}, {"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0232", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00"}]
---

# Microsoft Windows: Microsoft Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability

Windows kernel on 32-bit x86 with 16-bit application support enabled does not properly validate certain BIOS calls. A local user who can run code on the machine can gain SYSTEM privileges.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Affected

- vendor:Microsoft Windows affected ? fixed ?

## Fix

Apply the Microsoft updates for this CVE per vendor instructions (CISA required action); the specific KB or build numbers are not in the sources.

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00 kev https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2010-0232
- 2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2010-0232
- 2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2010-0232

## From the sources

The kernel in Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 through Windows 7, including Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Windows Server 2008 Gold and SP2, when access to 16-bit applications is enabled on a 32-bit x86 platform, does not properly validate certain BIOS calls, which allows local users to gain privileges by crafting a VDM_TIB data structure in the Thread Environment Block (TEB), and then calling the NtVdmControl function to start the Windows Virtual DOS Machine (aka NTVDM) subsystem, leading to improperly handled exceptions involving the #GP trap handler (nt!KiTrap0D), aka "Windows Kernel Exception Handler Vulnerability."

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_