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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 14 Jun 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2017-0005

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-03-17
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 Public exploit Zero-click Patch available

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
The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2; Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1; Windows 7 SP1; Windows 8.1; Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2; Windows RT 8.1; and Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows GDI Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This vulnerability is different from those described in CVE-2017-0001, CVE-2017-0025, and CVE-2017-0047.

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

A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) that allows an authenticated local user to execute specially crafted code with elevated privileges. The vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions from Vista/Server 2008 through Windows 10.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS17-004) to affected Windows systems to remediate this vulnerability. Network-level controls provide minimal benefit as this is a local privilege escalation requiring authenticated local access.

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 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1511Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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
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? 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. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version is Windows 10 1507, 1511, or 1607; Windows 7 (any); Windows 8.1 (any); Windows Rt 8.1; Windows Server 2008 (any); Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows Server 2012 (any); or Windows Server 2012 R2
  2. Verify MS17-013 security update is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-HotFix -Id KB4012216' (note: MS17-013 contains multiple KBs including KB4012216 for March 2017) to check if the patch is present
    Affected if The security update MS17-013 (or subsequent cumulative update containing the GDI fix) is NOT installed
  3. Confirm GDI component version
    Check the file version of gdi32.dll in C:\Windows\System32\ by running 'dir /a C:\Windows\System32\gdi32.dll' or checking properties to view version info
    Affected if The gdi32.dll version is lower than the fixed version released in MS17-013 (for example, Windows 7 gdi32.dll versions below 6.1.7601.23598 are vulnerable)

A system is affected if it runs any affected Windows version listed and does not have the MS17-013 security update (or subsequent cumulative update) installed, leaving the unpatched gdi32.dll vulnerable to privilege escalation.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch blogs.technet.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS17-004) to affected Windows systems to remediate this vulnerability. Network-level controls provide minimal benefit as this is a local privilege escalation requiring authenticated local access.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-013 (March 2017 Security Update)

  1. Install the Microsoft Security Update MS17-013 (or subsequent relevant security updates) which addresses this GDI elevation of privilege vulnerability
  2. For Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2: Ensure Windows Update is configured and install the March 2017 security updates (KB4012212 or subsequent monthly rollups)
  3. For Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2: Install the March 2017 security updates via Windows Update or WSUS
  4. For Windows 10 versions 1507, 1511, and 1607: Apply the cumulative security update for March 2017
  5. For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: Apply the applicable March 2017 security updates
  6. After patching, verify the update was successfully installed by checking the installed updates list

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-0005 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2017-0005 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