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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 10 Aug 2022.
Windows 10 1511Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2017-8464

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2017-06-15
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 Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Windows Shell in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, 1703, and Windows Server 2016 allows local users or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted .LNK file, which is not properly handled during icon display in Windows Explorer or any other application that parses the icon of the shortcut. aka "LNK Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

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

Windows Shell fails to properly validate crafted .LNK (shortcut) files during icon display processing. When Windows Explorer or any application parses the icon of a malicious .LNK file, it can trigger arbitrary code execution, allowing attackers to gain full control of the affected system.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches (MS16-077 and subsequent updates) to all affected Windows systems. Additionally, disable thumbnail and icon previews for shortcut files in Windows Explorer and implement application whitelisting to block execution of LNK files from untrusted sources.

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 1511Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1703Operating 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
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? 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. Check Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected products: Windows 10 1511, 1607, or 1703; Windows 7 all versions; Windows 8.1 all versions; Windows Rt 8.1; Windows Server 2008 (all versions including R2); or Windows Server 2012 (all versions including R2)
  2. Verify June 2017 security update installation
    Check for security update KB4022725 (or corresponding update for your Windows version) in Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list installed hotfixes
    Affected if The June 2017 security update for this vulnerability is NOT installed (the system is unpatched)
  3. Confirm Windows Explorer is the active shell
    Verify that Windows Explorer is the default shell. Check the Shell value in 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon' - it should be set to explorer.exe
    Affected if Windows Explorer is the default shell (this is the default configuration)
  4. Check icon loading status
    Check if icon cache loading is disabled. Review registry key 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced' for 'DisableThumbnailCache' (set to 1) or similar icon cache disable flags, or check group policies under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer > Turn off thumbnail caching
    Affected if Icon loading/thumbnail caching is enabled (default setting), meaning Explorer will attempt to load icons from .LNK files

The system is affected if it runs an unpatched affected Windows version with Windows Explorer as the default shell and icon loading enabled, allowing malicious .LNK files to trigger arbitrary code execution when a folder containing them is viewed.

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 portal.msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches (MS16-077 and subsequent updates) to all affected Windows systems. Additionally, disable thumbnail and icon previews for shortcut files in Windows Explorer and implement application whitelisting to block execution of LNK files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS17-013 (or subsequent related updates) for your specific Windows version. For end-of-life versions (Windows 10 1511, 1607, 1703), upgrade to a supported Windows 10 feature update (21H2 or later) or Windows 11.

  1. Obtain the appropriate Microsoft security patch for your Windows version from the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) portal at portal.msrc.microsoft.com
  2. For Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1: apply security update KB4019215 (released June 2017)
  3. For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2: apply security update KB4019216 (released June 2017)
  4. For Windows 10 versions 1511, 1607, and 1703: apply the corresponding cumulative security update from June 2017
  5. For Windows Server 2012 (non-R2): apply security update KB4019214
  6. For Windows Server 2016: apply the June 2017 cumulative update
  7. After applying the patch, restart the affected system to ensure the security update takes effect
  8. Verify the patch was successfully installed by checking the installed updates via Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates
Caveat Patching this vulnerability typically has no breaking changes; however, Windows 10 versions 1511, 1607, and 1703 have reached end of support and should be upgraded to a supported version for continued security updates.

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1511 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2017-8464 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