{"id":"CVE-2014-6324","published":"2014-11-18T23:59:02Z","modified":"2026-06-17T00:12:54Z","title":"Microsoft Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","vendor":"Microsoft","product":"Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC)","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"The Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2 allows remote authenticated domain users to obtain domain administrator privileges via a forged signature in a ticket, as exploited in the wild in November 2014, aka \"Kerberos Checksum Vulnerability.\"","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"The Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) in Microsoft Kerberos Key Distribution Center contains a privilege escalation flaw, in which a forged signature in a ticket is accepted, affecting Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2. An attacker with network access and valid low-privilege domain user credentials can forge a ticket signature to obtain domain administrator privileges, with no user interaction required.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:04:42Z"},"cvss":{"score":8.8,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.87335,"percentile":0.99753,"date":"2026-10-28","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-25","dueDate":"2022-04-15","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-6324","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2014-11-18","exploitedFirstSeen":"2014-11-18","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lkNJ0uQwbeC1ZTRrxdtuPLCIl7mlUreoKfSIgajnSyY/edit","date":"2014-11-18"},{"url":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-6324","date":"2014-11-18"},{"url":"https://media.kasperskycontenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/43/2018/03/07205202/The_Mystery_of_Duqu_2_0_a_sophisticated_cyberespionage_actor_returns.pdf","date":"2015-06-11"},{"url":"https://www.dropbox.com/s/buxkfotx1kei0ce/Whitepaper%20Shadow%20Broker%20-%20Equation%20Group%20Hack.pdf?dl=0","date":"2016-10-05"},{"url":"https://community.broadcom.com/symantecenterprise/communities/community-home/librarydocuments/viewdocument?DocumentKey=a9c54f79-d780-437b-a7f5-a74960e299d5&CommunityKey=8af7f28f-02f1-4107-8639-93a60b6546d4&tab=librarydocuments","date":"2017-06-20"},{"url":"https://www.secureworks.com/research/bronze-union","date":"2017-06-27"},{"url":"https://www.virusbulletin.com/virusbulletin/2020/05/vb2019-paper-apt-cases-exploiting-vulnerabilities-regionspecific-software/#ref3","date":"2020-05-01"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2022-03-25"},{"url":"https://www.dexpose.io/threat-actor-profile-apt27/","date":"2025-09-15"}],"evidenceTotal":9,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-264","name":null}],"references":[{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/11/18/additional-information-about-cve-2014-6324.aspx","tags":["Not Applicable","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=142350249315918&w=2","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/62556","tags":["Broken Link"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70958","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031237","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA14-323A","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-068","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/11/18/additional-information-about-cve-2014-6324.aspx","tags":["Not Applicable","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"http://marc.info/?l=bugtraq&m=142350249315918&w=2","tags":["Mailing List","Third Party Advisory"]},{"url":"http://secunia.com/advisories/62556","tags":["Broken Link"]},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/70958","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031237","tags":["Broken Link","Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"]},{"url":"http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA14-323A","tags":["Third Party Advisory","US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-068","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2014-6324","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1068","name":"Exploitation for Privilege Escalation","tactics":["privilege-escalation"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"},{"id":"T1558.001","name":"Golden Ticket","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-cve","bases":["ctid-cve"],"basisDetail":"CTID attack_to_cve (Phase 1)","mappingType":"uncategorized","evidence":[],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 \"Uncategorized\" mapping (not staged by impact)"},{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: authenticated domain user abuses valid domain account","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"allows remote authenticated domain users to obtain domain administrator privileges","start":211,"end":293}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1558","name":"Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: forged Kerberos ticket signature enables credential forgery","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"via a forged signature in a ticket","start":294,"end":328}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1212","name":"Exploitation for Credential Access","tactics":["credential-access"],"provenance":"machine","basis":"report-passage","bases":["report-passage"],"basisDetail":"keyword query KW:T1212:2","mappingType":null,"evidence":[{"reportId":"SRC-3f6725fca174c5145fc8","quote":"w64.log >ppp.log2016-10-03T09:30:10 PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File getpwd.ps1 >iistail.log\nIn another example, BRONZE UNION leveraged the Kekeo credential abuse tool to exploit CVE-2014-6324, a vulnerability in Microsoft's implementation of the Kerberos network authentication","start":11721,"end":12011}],"confidence":"low","confidenceNote":"machine-matched from report text"}],"reports":[{"id":"SRC-3f6725fca174c5145fc8","title":"BRONZE UNION Cyberespionage Persists Despite Disclosures","publisher":"sophos.com","url":"https://www.sophos.com/en-us/research/bronze-union","date":null,"mentions":[{"quote":"w64.log >ppp.log2016-10-03T09:30:10 PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File getpwd.ps1 >iistail.log\nIn another example, BRONZE UNION leveraged the Kekeo credential abuse tool to exploit CVE-2014-6324, a vulnerability in Microsoft's implementation of the Kerberos network authentication","start":11721,"end":12011}]}],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2014-6208","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2014-6208","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2022-03-25","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[{"id":35474,"url":"https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/35474","title":"Microsoft Windows Kerberos - Privilege Escalation (MS14-068)","type":"remote","platform":"windows","date":"2014-12-05","verified":true,"provenance":"source"}],"exploitSources":{"exploitdb":{"count":1,"earliest":"2014-12-05"},"metasploit":[{"name":"MS14-068 Microsoft Kerberos Checksum Validation Vulnerability","module":"auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum","type":"auxiliary","disclosureDate":"2014-11-18","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum.rb"}],"first":{"date":"2014-11-18","source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum.rb"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1078"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1558"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"related","techniques":["T1068","T1558.001"],"provenance":"source","lowConfidence":true},{"stage":"observed","techniques":["T1212"],"provenance":"machine","lowConfidence":true}],"timeline":[{"date":"2014-11-18","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-6324","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2014-11-18","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: Metasploit; later: Exploit-DB 2014-12-05","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum.rb","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2014-11-18","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lkNJ0uQwbeC1ZTRrxdtuPLCIl7mlUreoKfSIgajnSyY/edit","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-03-25","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-03-25","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2014-6208","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":0,"firstExploitFrom":"Metasploit","daysToKev":2684},"priority":{"score":73.0,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 4363 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.95,"detail":"percentile 0.9975"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":3.87,"detail":"1 report"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"1 Exploit-DB entry; 1 Metasploit module"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.16,"detail":"base score 8.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}