Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2014-4148

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2014-10-15

Patch available

A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.

See remediation →

100/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TrueType font, as exploited in the wild in October 2014, aka "TrueType Font Parsing Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in win32k.sys kernel-mode driver allows remote code execution through maliciously crafted TrueType fonts. The font parsing code in the Windows kernel does not properly validate font data, enabling an attacker to inject and execute arbitrary code at kernel privilege level.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS14-058 to address the TrueType font parsing vulnerability; consider disabling font preview features or blocking untrusted font sources at the network perimeter as additional defense-in-depth measures.

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

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Windows 7Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows 8Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows 8.1Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows RtOperating system

Affected:all versions

Windows Rt 8.1Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows Server 2003Operating system

Affected:all versions

Windows Server 2008Operating system

Affected:all versions= r2

Windows Server 2012Operating system

Affected:all versions= r2

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Confirm Windows version is affected

Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' and verify the system is Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Rt, Rt 8.1, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, or Server 2012 R2

Affected if The installed Windows version matches any of the affected products listed in the CVE
Verify patch MS14-058 is installed

Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "KB3000061"}' in PowerShell. The KB number for this CVE is KB3000061

Affected if The security update KB3000061 is NOT installed on the system
Check win32k.sys file version

Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys, right-click > Properties > Details, or run 'wmic datafile where name="C:\\Windows\\System32\\win32k.sys" get Version,FileSize,LastModified'

Affected if The file version is lower than the patched version released with MS14-058 (compare your version against Microsoft's release notes for KB3000061)
Confirm TrueType font processing is in use

This is a kernel-level component; win32k.sys handles font rendering for all Windows applications. No configuration needed - any system processing fonts (which is all Windows systems) has the attack surface present

Affected if The system processes TrueType fonts (applies to any default Windows installation)

If the system runs any affected Windows version listed and lacks KB3000061, it is vulnerable to CVE-2014-4148 exploitation through win32k.sys TrueType font parsing.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Patch available Apply the vendor patch

Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →

Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS14-058 to address the TrueType font parsing vulnerability; consider disabling font preview features or blocking untrusted font sources at the network perimeter as additional defense-in-depth measures.

Recommended fix High confidence

For long-term remediation, upgrade to a currently supported Windows version (Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+) which includes the fix and ongoing security updates

Locate and download the MS14-058 security update (KB3000061) from the Microsoft Security Response Center or Microsoft Update Catalog
For Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: Install KB3000061
For Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2: Install KB3000061
For Windows Server 2003 SP2: Install KB3000061
For Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012: Install KB3000061
For Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT, and Windows RT 8.1: Install KB3000061 (may require enabling installation of updates)
Restart the affected system after applying the patch
Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Windows Update history or reviewing installed updates

Caveat MS14-058 was a critical security patch with no known functional breaking changes; however, ensure compatibility testing is performed on production systems before deployment as a general best practice

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement

Consultation6.0 h
Implementation12.0 h
Testing8.0 h
Review / QA4.0 h

30.0 hours of engineering $5,280

Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.

Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

docs.microsoft.comPatch / commit
docs.microsoft.comPatchVendor Advisory
www.securityfocus.comBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.comThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
blogs.technet.comNot Applicable
secunia.comBroken Link
www.cisa.govUS Government Resource
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-4148 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2014-4148?

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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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

At a glance

Exploited in the wildOn CISA’s known-exploited list · agencies must fix by 2022-06-15

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 8.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 59.8%

Affects: Windows 7

Remediation

Being exploited — close it fast

Fix this in Windows 7 30 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $5,280

Get it fixed fast See the full breakdown ↓

This CVE is on CISA’s actively-exploited list, so the clock is real — a vetted specialist can deliver a reviewed fix for your staging environment quickly.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References