CVE-2017-14398
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 · uneditedrzpnk.sys in Razer Synapse 2.20.15.1104 allows local users to read and write to arbitrary memory locations, and consequently gain privileges, via a methodology involving a handle to \Device\PhysicalMemory, IOCTL 0x22A064, and ZwMapViewOfSection.
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 confidenceThe rzpnk.sys kernel driver in Razer Synapse 2.20.15.1104 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability allowing local unprivileged users to read and write to arbitrary memory locations. The flaw involves obtaining a handle to \Device\PhysicalMemory, sending IOCTL 0x22A064 to the driver, and abusing ZwMapViewOfSection to map arbitrary physical memory pages, enabling complete SYSTEM-level privilege escalation.
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= 2.20.15.1104CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if Razer Synapse is installedCheck for Razer Synapse installation directory, typically at C:\Program Files\Razer\Synapse\, or look in Windows Programs and FeaturesAffected if Razer Synapse version 2.20.15.1104 is installed on the system
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Verify rzpnk.sys driver presenceSearch for rzpnk.sys file on the system - typically located in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ or within the Razer Synapse installation folderAffected if The rzpnk.sys driver file exists on the system
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Check driver file versionRight-click rzpnk.sys, select Properties, and view the File Version field. Alternatively, use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty on the driver pathAffected if The driver file version matches 2.20.15.1104 exactly
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Determine if driver is currently loadedOpen an elevated command prompt and run: sc query rzpnk or check Device Manager for the Razer kernel driver under System devicesAffected if The rzpnk driver service exists and shows as RUNNING or STOPPED in the system
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Check for PhysicalMemory device accessUse Process Explorer or similar tool to check if any process has an open handle to \Device\PhysicalMemory, or use WinObj to inspect if the device object is exposedAffected if The \Device\PhysicalMemory object is accessible and the vulnerable IOCTL 0x22A064 can be reached through the rzpnk driver
A system is affected if Razer Synapse version 2.20.15.1104 is installed with the rzpnk.sys driver present, regardless of whether the driver is currently running, as the vulnerability can be triggered when the driver is loaded.
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 dataUpdate Razer Synapse to a patched version that addresses this driver vulnerability, or disable/remove the rzpnk.sys driver if the software is not required.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-14398 — 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-2017-14398 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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