dbcve.org
Windows 2000Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2007-0038

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-03-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow in the animated cursor code in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 through Vista allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (persistent reboot) via a large length value in the second (or later) anih block of a RIFF .ANI, cur, or .ico file, which results in memory corruption when processing cursors, animated cursors, and icons, a variant of CVE-2005-0416, as originally demonstrated using Internet Explorer 6 and 7. NOTE: this might be a duplicate of CVE-2007-1765; if so, then CVE-2007-0038 should be preferred.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in Windows animated cursor (ANI) file parsing. When processing malformed .ani, .cur, or .ico files containing a large length value in the anih (animated icon header) block, the second or later block triggers a buffer overflow on the stack, leading to memory corruption that can be exploited for arbitrary code execution or cause a persistent denial of service requiring system reboot.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patch MS07-017 which addresses this vulnerability in Windows 2000 SP4 through Vista; for systems no longer supported by Microsoft, upgrade to a supported Windows version as these legacy operating systems are inherently at severe risk.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 2000Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:= gold= sp1= sp2
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Windows version and Service Pack
    Open Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the exact Windows version and service pack level
    Affected if The system runs Windows 2000 (any SP), Windows XP (any SP), Windows 2003 Server (gold, SP1, or SP2), or Windows Vista (any version)
  2. Verify MS07-017 patch installation
    Open Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, enable 'Show updates', and look for security update KB925902; alternatively, run 'wmic qfe get hotfixid,installedon' and search for KB925902
    Affected if The MS07-017 security update (KB925902) is NOT installed and the Windows version falls within the affected range

You are affected if your system runs an unpatched Windows 2000, XP, 2003 Server (gold/SP1/SP2), or Vista version where the KB925902 update is missing.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patch MS07-017 which addresses this vulnerability in Windows 2000 SP4 through Vista; for systems no longer supported by Microsoft, upgrade to a supported Windows version as these legacy operating systems are inherently at severe risk.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. Open Microsoft Update or Windows Update on the affected system
  2. Select 'Custom' or 'Check for updates' to scan for available patches
  3. Look for security update MS07-017 (KB925486) - Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer, or search for the version-specific KB article listed above for your Windows version
  4. Install the security update and restart the system when prompted
  5. Alternatively, download the update directly from the Microsoft Download Center using the KB number for your specific Windows version
Caveat This is a legacy Windows XP/2003/Vista vulnerability; if the system cannot be patched, consider migrating to a supported Windows version as these older operating systems are no longer supported

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 2000 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-0038 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data