CVE-2002-0367

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.

CVSS: 7.8Highscored by CISA
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 3 Mar 2022CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 24 Mar 2022public exploit code
EPSS: 4.9%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 8% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published: 25 Jun 2002analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)

Summary

Triage

Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: local
Weakness: CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management
Can a WAF block it?: No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

microsoft:windows_2000
microsoft:windows_nt

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.

Also consider: patch

Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 3 Mar 2022.
CISA due date: 24 Mar 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code: Yes: 1 on Exploit-DB
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 7 Feb 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Exploit-DB

Microsoft Windows NT 4.0/2000 - Process Handle Local Privilege Escalationlocal, 13 Mar 2002, verified by Exploit-DB

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

13 Mar 2002First public exploit or proof of concept
25 Jun 2002Published104 days (about 3 months) later
3 Mar 2022Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)7,191 days (about 20 years) later
24 Mar 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)21 days later
7 Feb 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active1,052 days (about 3 years) later
22 Oct 2025CVE record last updated256 days (about 9 months) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com387 days (about 1 year) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user).	Local access required (shell, logged-in user).
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	LowThe attacker needs basic user privileges.	The attacker needs basic user privileges.
User interaction	NoneNo victim action needed.	No victim action needed.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2002-0367 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2002-0367 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2002-0367?

CVE-2002-0367 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2002-0367?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2002-0367. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2002-0367 affect?

CVE-2002-0367 affects microsoft:windows_2000, microsoft:windows_nt. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

10 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Advisories (1)

docs.microsoft.com /en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2002/ms02-024

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Exploit-DB: published exploits

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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