Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2015-2387

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2015-07-14

Patch available

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

See remediation →

96/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

In the wild Zero-click Patch available

Official description

NVD · unedited

ATMFD.DLL in the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver 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 local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "ATMFD.DLL Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

CVE-2015-2387 is a memory corruption vulnerability in ATMFD.DLL, the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver included in Windows. The flaw allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges by running a specially crafted application that triggers the memory corruption in the font driver.

MitigationApply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-080 which addresses this vulnerability, or ensure Windows Update is enabled and systems are patched. In enterprise environments, test the patch for font rendering compatibility before broad deployment.

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: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Identify Windows version

Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to confirm the Windows version

Affected if The version is Windows 7, 8, 8.1, RT, RT 8.1, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, or Server 2012 R2 (all versions of these releases are affected)
Locate ATMFD.DLL

Check for the presence of ATMFD.DLL in the system. Typical path: C:\Windows\System32\ATMFD.DLL. Run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\ATMFD.DLL'

Affected if The file exists on the system (the vulnerable component is present)
Verify MS15-080 patch is installed

Check for security update KB3061512. Run 'wmic qfe list | findstr "KB3061512"' or view installed updates in Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates

Affected if The KB3061512 update is NOT installed (system is missing the fix for this CVE)
Check font rendering functionality

Confirm that the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver is enabled by default. This driver loads when any font operation occurs. No specific config toggle needed - it is a core Windows component.

Affected if The system uses Windows font rendering (which loads ATMFD.DLL automatically)

A system is affected if it runs any unpatched version of Windows 7, 8, 8.1, RT, RT 8.1, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, or Server 2012 R2 and lacks the KB3061512 security update.

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 Bulletin MS15-080 which addresses this vulnerability, or ensure Windows Update is enabled and systems are patched. In enterprise environments, test the patch for font rendering compatibility before broad deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

For systems on Windows 7/8.1/Server 2008R2/2012R2: Apply respective MS15-080 update. For end-of-life systems (Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008 without R2): migrate to supported OS versions such as Windows Server 2016 or later.

Apply Microsoft Security Update MS15-080, which addresses this ATMFD.DLL vulnerability and related font driver issues. This update was released August 2015.
For Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: Ensure Windows 7 SP1 / Server 2008 R2 SP1 is applied, then install KB3078662 from MS15-080.
For Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012: Install KB3078663 from MS15-080.
For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2: Install KB3078664 from MS15-080.
For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: Install KB3078665 from MS15-080 (note: these OS versions are past end of support).
For Windows Server 2003: Install KB3078659 from MS15-080 (note: Windows Server 2003 is past end of support).
For Windows RT: Install the corresponding RT-specific update from MS15-080.
After applying updates, verify the ATMFD.DLL version reflects the patched release or confirm via vulnerability scanning.

Caveat MS15-080 replaced the vulnerable ATMFD.DLL with an updated version; some legacy font rendering behavior may change but no significant breaking changes expected for standard applications

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

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

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation4.0 h
Testing4.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

12.0 hours of engineering $2,080

Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally

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References

Primary sources

docs.microsoft.comPatch / commit
docs.microsoft.comPatchVendor Advisory
www.securityfocus.comBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.securitytracker.comBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.us-cert.govThird Party AdvisoryUS Government Resource
www.cisa.govUS Government Resource
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-2387 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2015-2387?

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 2022-03-24

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 35.1%

Affects: Windows 7

Remediation

Being exploited — close it fast

Fix this in Windows 7 12 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $2,080

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