CVE intelligence and bounded remediation
CVE-2019-1188 — A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows that could allow remote code execution if a .LNK file is processed
A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows that could allow remote code execution if a .LNK file is processed. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. The attacker could present to the user a removable drive, or remote share, that contains a malicious .LNK file and an associated malicious binary. When the user opens this drive(or remote share) in Windows Explorer, or any other application that parses the .LNK file, the malicious binary will execute code of the attacker’s choice, on the target system. The security update addresses the vulnerability by correcting the processing of shortcut LNK references.
- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 9.3 (2.0)
- Published
- 2019-08-14
- CISA KEV
- Not currently listed
- Ecosystem
- windows/system
- Weaknesses
- CWE-59
Affected products
- microsoft / windows_10 / 1709
- microsoft / windows_10 / 1803
- microsoft / windows_10 / 1809
- microsoft / windows_10 / 1903
- microsoft / windows_server_2016 / 1803
- microsoft / windows_server_2016 / 1903
Showing 6 representative product identities from 7 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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