KEV Intelligence

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2010-0249

Internet Explorer

Microsoft / Internet Explorer

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Severity
CVSS 8.8 · High
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
91.9%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2010-0249 is an unauthenticated vulnerability affecting Microsoft Internet Explorer. Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 6 SP1, 7, and 8 on Windows 2000 SP4; Windows XP SP2 and SP3;...

Is it exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Microsoft / Internet Explorer.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Internet Explorer

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."

View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
15 Jan 2010
Exploitation Reported
15 Jan 2010
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required

Tags

cisa windows metasploit microsoft

CVE References

  • CVE Record CVE.org · CVE Record https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2010-0249
  • 979352 support.microsoft.com · Vendor Advisory http://support.microsoft.com/kb/979352
  • MS10-002 docs.microsoft.com · Vendor Advisory https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2...
  • VU#492515 kb.cert.org · Third-Party Advisory http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/492515
  • TA10-055A us-cert.gov · Third-Party Advisory http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-055A.html
  • 11167 exploit-db.com · Exploit http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11167
  • oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6835 oval.cisecurity.org · VDB Entry https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.m...
  • 61697 osvdb.org · VDB Entry http://osvdb.org/61697
  • 37815 securityfocus.com · VDB Entry http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/37815
  • ie-freed-object-code-execution(55642) exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com · VDB Entry https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55642
  • 1023462 securitytracker.com · VDB Entry http://securitytracker.com/id?1023462
  • ADV-2010-0135 vupen.com · VDB Entry http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2010/0135
  • microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979352.mspx microsoft.com · CVE Record http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979352.mspx
  • blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/14/security-advisory-97... blogs.technet.com · CVE Record http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/14/security-advisory-97...
  • news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10435232-245.html news.cnet.com · CVE Record http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10435232-245.html

Exploitation evidence

Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CVE

Recorded 15 Jan 2010

Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.

Proof of concept available

Recorded 28 Apr 2025

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.

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Source Added
CVE First 2010-01-15 17:00 UTC
CISA 2026-06-02 14:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
0
User-Agents
0

Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/browser/ms10_002_aurora.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

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

EPSS

91.9%

Weaknesses

Use After Free CWE-416

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 8.8 High

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

CVSS v2.0 9.3 High

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

ms10_002_aurora

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2010-0249

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  2. Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  3. Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. Added to KEV Intelligence KEV Feed

    High-confidence, third-party attested exploitation

  5. CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  6. CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2010-0249

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2010-0249",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 8.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.91885,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

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