CVE-2021-1696
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 · uneditedWindows Graphics Component Information Disclosure 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 · moderate confidenceWindows Graphics Component Information Disclosure Vulnerability (CVSS 5.5 Medium). This is a local information disclosure vulnerability in the Windows graphics subsystem that could allow an authenticated attacker to potentially access sensitive information through the graphics component.
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 dataall versions= 20h2= 1607= 1803= 1809= 1909= 2004all versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= r2all versions= 20h2= 1909= 2004all versionsCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 the installed Windows versionRun 'winver' from the Run dialog, or execute 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt and look at the OS Name and Version fields, or use 'Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion' in PowerShellAffected if The version matches any of the affected versions: Windows 10 (all versions including 20h2, 1607, 1803, 1809, 1909, 2004), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008/2008 R2, Windows Server 2012/2012 R2, Windows Server 2016 (all versions including 20h2,
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Confirm the security update KB4598223 is installedRun 'wmic qfe list' in Command Prompt, or use 'Get-HotFix -Id KB4598223' in PowerShell, or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates and search for KB4598223Affected if The update KB4598223 is NOT found in the installed updates list - this means the patch has not been applied and the system remains vulnerable
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Check the graphics component file versionNavigate to C:\Windows\System32\ and right-click on gdi32.dll (or gdiplus.dll), select Properties, then view the Details tab for the File Version, or run 'dir /a C:\Windows\System32\gdi32.dll' in Command PromptAffected if The file version is lower than the patched version provided by KB4598223 - the exact version varies by Windows build but should be higher than the pre-patch baseline
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND does not have KB4598223 installed, leaving the graphics component vulnerable to information disclosure from an authenticated local attacker.
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 dataApply the Microsoft security update KB4598223 (or subsequent relevant patches) to affected Windows systems via Windows Update or enterprise patch management tools.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1696 — 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-2021-1696 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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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