The Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Win…

published 2014-11-18 11 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2014-6208

cvss: 8.8; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Exploited; added 2022-03-25
epss: 87.3%; EPSS 87.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.7%
public exploits: 2; Metasploit, Exploit-DB

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."

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

links 1

docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-068 advisory

Timeline

2014-11-18 0-day patched (Project Zero)
2014-11-18 First public exploit (Metasploit auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum)
2014-11-18 Published
2022-03-25 Added to CISA KEV
2022-04-15 CISA patch deadline
2025-02-10 CISA SSVC: exploitation active

Known exploited

Added: 4 y ago (2022-03-25)
Patch by: 2022-04-15 (4 y ago)
Ransomware: Not known
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product: Microsoft, Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC)
CISA name: Microsoft Kerberos Key Distribution Center (KDC) Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Zero-day

Detected in real attacks while still unknown to the vendor and the public, per Google Project Zero's 0day In-the-Wild tracker.

Patched: 2014-11-18
Details: project zero tracker

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 20 mo ago (2025-02-10)

Exploit prediction

87.33% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.7% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

Metasploit auxiliary/admin/kerberos/ms14_068_kerberos_checksum MS14-068 Microsoft Kerberos Checksum Validation Vulnerability metasploit auxiliary, normal rank, 2014-11-18
EDB-35474 Microsoft Windows Kerberos - Privilege Escalation (MS14-068) remote, 2014-12-05

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CISA ADP	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA	3.1	8.8	CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	9.0	AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C

References

docs.microsoft.com /en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-068
vendor-advisory, patch
marc.info /?l=bugtraq&m=142350249315918&w=2
vendor-advisory, mailing-list, third-party-advisory
blogs.technet.com /b/srd/archive/2014/11/18/additional-information-about-cve-2014-6324.aspx
not-applicable, vendor-advisory
securitytracker.com /id/1031237
vdb-entry, broken-link, third-party-advisory
securityfocus.com /bid/70958
vdb-entry, broken-link, third-party-advisory
us-cert.gov /ncas/alerts/TA14-323A
third-party-advisory, us-government-resource
secunia.com /advisories/62556
third-party-advisory, broken-link
cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2014-6324
government-resource, us-government-resource

Sources

CVE List CVE-2014-6324
NVD CVE-2014-6324

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

Summary