CVE-2010-3959
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 · uneditedThe OpenType Font (OTF) driver in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 Gold, SP2, and R2, and Windows 7 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted CMAP table in an OpenType font, aka "OpenType CMAP Table Vulnerability."
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 confidenceVulnerability in the Windows OpenType Font (OTF) driver allows local users to escalate privileges via a crafted CMAP (character mapping) table embedded in a malicious OpenType font file. The font driver fails to properly validate CMAP table data, leading to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges when the specially crafted font is loaded.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or check system properties to confirm the installed Windows versionAffected if The version is Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server, 2008 Server, or Windows 7 (all versions listed as affected)
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Verify if security update MS10-078 is installedCheck Windows Update history or use 'wmic qfe list' command to list installed updatesAffected if The update MS10-078 is NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable
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Confirm OpenType Font driver presenceCheck for the presence of the Windows font driver component (atmfd.dll or fonthash.dll) in the systemAffected if The vulnerable font driver component exists on the system and the patch is not applied
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Check font loading permissionsReview the permissions on the Windows Fonts folder (%WINDIR%\Fonts) and user font directoriesAffected if Standard users have the ability to add or modify font files without restriction, allowing placement of malicious fonts
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Audit installed fonts for unauthorized OTF filesEnumerate font files in the system fonts directory and user-accessible locations, looking for untrusted or recently added OpenType font filesAffected if Untrusted or recently introduced OpenType font files are present that could contain malicious CMAP table data
The system is affected if it runs any unpatched Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server, 2008 Server, or Windows 7 version AND the MS10-078 security update has not been installed, allowing local privilege escalation through malicious OTF font files with crafted CMAP tables.
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 dataApply the Microsoft security update (MS10-078) to patch the vulnerable OTF font driver. Restrict font loading permissions and monitor for unauthorized font file introduction to systems. For enterprise deployments, test the patch in controlled environments before broad rollout.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3959 — 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-2010-3959 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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