CVE-2014-4077: Microsoft IME Japanese Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name

Microsoft IME Japanese Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Vendor

Microsoft

Product

Input Method Editor (IME) Japanese

Added to the catalog

2022-05-25

Due date for US federal agencies

2022-06-15

Weaknesses

CWE-264

Catalog version

2026.10.30

Microsoft Input Method Editor (IME) Japanese is a keyboard with Japanese characters that can be enabled on Windows systems as it is included by default (with the default set as disabled). IME Japanese contains an unspecified vulnerability when IMJPDCT.EXE (IME for Japanese) is installed which allows attackers to bypass a sandbox and perform privilege escalation.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-4077

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status

Analyzed

Published

2014-11-11T22:55:04.637

Last modified

2026-06-17T00:09:23.740

Weaknesses

NVD-CWE-noinfo

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, and Office 2007 SP3, when IMJPDCT.EXE (aka IME for Japanese) is installed, allow remote attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism via a crafted PDF document, aka "Microsoft IME (Japanese) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in 2014.

References

• http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/11/11/assessing-risk-for-the-november-2014-security-updates.aspx (Not Applicable, Vendor Advisory)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031196 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031197 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-078 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/11/11/assessing-risk-for-the-november-2014-security-updates.aspx (Not Applicable, Vendor Advisory)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031196 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031197 (Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry)
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2014/ms14-078 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2014-4077 (US Government Resource)

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:41:28.906Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2014-4077

CVE record

Assigner

microsoft

State

PUBLISHED

Published

2014-11-11T22:00:00.000Z

Updated

2025-10-22T00:05:34.855Z

Problem types

n/a

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, and Office 2007 SP3, when IMJPDCT.EXE (aka IME for Japanese) is installed, allow remote attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism via a crafted PDF document, aka "Microsoft IME (Japanese) Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in 2014.

References

• 1031197
• http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2014/11/11/assessing-risk-for-the-november-2014-security-updates.aspx
• MS14-078
• 1031196

Read on 2026-11-03T00:25:21.788Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2014/4xxx/CVE-2014-4077.json