What is CVE-2010-0249?

CVE-2010-0249 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2010-01-15.

How severe is CVE-2010-0249?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2010-0249 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2010-0249 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited. 6 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Use After Free in Microsoft Internet Explorer

CVE-2010-0249

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."

Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free

Published 2010-01-15 · last modified 2026-06-16.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.919 (99.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-16.

High probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — patch promptly. 100th percentile — 99.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.919 · newest: 0.919 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Microsoft Internet Explorer — versions 5.0.1, 6, 7.0
Microsoft Windows 2000
Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 — versions r2
Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows Xp

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-416 — Use After Free

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2026-05-20. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2026-06-03.

Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/979352.mspx (Patch, Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval:org.mitre.oval:def:6835 (Broken Link, signature, vdb-entry)
osvdb.org/61697 (vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/37815 (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/492515 (US Government Resource, Third Party Advisory, third-party-advisory)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/11167 (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
support.microsoft.com/kb/979352 (vendor-advisory, Patch, Vendor Advisory)
blogs.technet.com/msrc/archive/2010/01/14/security-advisory-979352.aspx (Broken Link, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/55642 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)
www.us-cert.gov/cas/techalerts/TA10-055A.html (US Government Resource, Third Party Advisory, Broken Link, third-party-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2010-0249?: CVE-2010-0249 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2010-01-15.
How severe is CVE-2010-0249?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2010-0249 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2010-0249 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2026-05-20), indicating it is being actively exploited. 6 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.