CVE-2008-2160
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 · uneditedMultiple unspecified vulnerabilities in the JPEG (GDI+) and GIF image processing in Microsoft Windows CE 5.0 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted (1) JPEG and (2) GIF images.
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 · moderate confidenceMemory corruption vulnerabilities in Windows CE 5.0's GDI+ image processing library allow remote code execution when parsing specially crafted JPEG and GIF files. The image parsers fail to properly validate malformed image data structures, enabling attackers to overwrite memory and inject arbitrary code.
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= 5.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm the Windows CE versionCheck the operating system version on the device. On Windows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, this can be done via the System Information control panel, or by querying the OS via registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Ident or using the GetVersionEx API call.Affected if The OS version is exactly Windows CE 5.0 or Windows Embedded Compact 5.0.
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Identify GDI+ image processing componentDetermine if the GDI+ library (gdiplus.dll) is present on the device. Check the \Windows folder or examine the filesystem for gdiplus.dll. Also verify if any applications on the device use GDI+ for image rendering.Affected if The gdiplus.dll file exists on the device and is being used by any installed applications.
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Check for image processing exposureAudit the device for any applications, services, or network interfaces that accept or process JPEG or GIF image files. Look for web servers, file transfer services, image viewers, or custom applications that handle image input.Affected if Any application or service on the device can receive or process JPEG or GIF files from untrusted sources.
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Review network exposureExamine the device's network configuration and running services to determine if image processing capabilities are exposed to network connections. Check for open ports, running HTTP servers, or other network services that handle file uploads.Affected if The device accepts image files over network connections from remote clients or other devices.
A device is affected if it runs Windows CE 5.0 with the GDI+ library present and has any capability to process untrusted JPEG or GIF image files from network or file-based sources.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataSince Windows CE 5.0 is end-of-life with limited patching options, isolate affected devices from untrusted networks, implement input validation at network boundaries to filter untrusted image files, and consider device replacement if patching is unavailable.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-2160 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2160 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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