CVE-2017-15303
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 · uneditedIn CPUID CPU-Z before 1.43, there is an arbitrary memory write that results directly in elevation of privileges, because any program running on the local machine (while CPU-Z is running) can issue an ioctl 0x9C402430 call to the kernel-mode driver (e.g., cpuz141_x64.sys for version 1.41).
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 confidenceCPU-Z before version 1.43 ships with a vulnerable kernel-mode driver (cpuz141_x64.sys) that exposes ioctl 0x9C402430, allowing any local user-mode program to perform arbitrary memory writes directly into kernel memory, leading to immediate local 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<= 1.42CVSS 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:3.0/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.
-
Verify CPU-Z versionCheck the installed CPU-Z version by locating the executable (typically in Program Files or downloaded folder) and reviewing its file properties, or launch CPU-Z and check About/Version infoAffected if The installed version is 1.42 or lower
-
Locate kernel driver filesSearch for cpuz*.sys files on the system - common locations include the CPU-Z install directory, Windows\System32\drivers, or user temp foldersAffected if Any cpuz141_x64.sys or similarly named cpuz driver file exists on the system
-
Check if driver is loadedOpen an elevated command prompt and run 'driverquery /v | findstr cpuz' or use Sysinternals Autoruns to see if cpuz kernel driver is currently loaded in memoryAffected if The cpuz driver appears in the list of loaded kernel drivers
-
Inspect driver file versionRight-click the cpuz*.sys driver file, select Properties, and examine the File Version field in the Details tabAffected if The driver file version corresponds to CPU-Z 1.42 or earlier (typically 1.41 or similar)
The system is affected if CPU-Z version 1.42 or lower is installed, or if any cpuz141_x64.sys kernel driver file exists on the system regardless of version displayed in the application.
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 dataUpgrade CPU-Z to version 1.43 or later which contains the patched driver, or remove CPU-Z entirely if unused. Consider blocking or restricting loading of the cpuz* kernel drivers if the software is not required.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15303 — 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-2017-15303 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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