CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2019-0986 — An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles symlinks

High CVSS 7.1

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) improperly handles symlinks. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could delete files and folders in an elevated context. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and delete files or folders of their choosing. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting how the Windows User Profile Service handles symlinks.

Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.0)
Published
2019-06-12
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
windows/system
Weaknesses
CWE-59

Affected products

  • microsoft / windows_10
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1607
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1703
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1709
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1803
  • microsoft / windows_10 / 1809

Showing 6 representative product identities from 19 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
  • Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
  • Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.

Remediate safely

  • Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
  • Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
  • Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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