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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY
7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
7.8 HIGH

Local vector with no privileges but mandatory user interaction to open crafted content; successful overflow yields full code execution, so C/I/A all High.

3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Analysis Generated
Jul 23, 2026 - 22:11 vuln.today
CVE Published
May 12, 2026 - 16:58 nvd
HIGH 7.8

DescriptionCVE.org

Heap-based buffer overflow in Windows GDI allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

AnalysisAI

Local code execution in the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) component affects a broad range of Windows client and server releases from Windows Server 2012 through Windows 11 25H2/26H1 and Server 2025. An attacker who convinces a user to open a maliciously crafted file or content triggers a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in GDI, running arbitrary code in the victim's context with full confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, EPSS is very low (0.06%), and CISA SSVC records no known exploitation, so this is a patch-on-cycle item rather than an emergency.

Technical ContextAI

The Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI/GDI+) is a core OS subsystem responsible for rendering 2D graphics, fonts, and images for both applications and the kernel-adjacent graphics stack. CWE-122 (heap-based buffer overflow) indicates that GDI allocates a heap buffer whose bounds are exceeded - typically when parsing attacker-controlled dimensions, metadata, or image/font data - allowing adjacent heap memory and control structures to be corrupted. Because GDI parsing is reachable from many user-facing surfaces (documents, images, EMF/WMF metafiles, fonts), memory-safety flaws here are historically a common local code-execution vector. The CPE set confirms the affected code ships across Windows 10 (1607-22H2), Windows 11 (22H3-26H1), and Windows Server 2012 through 2025, including Server Core installations.

RemediationAI

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2026-35421 via the MSRC update guide (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-35421); patch is available from the vendor. Update each affected SKU to at or above its fixed build - for example Windows 11 24H2/25H2 to 10.0.26100.8457, Windows Server 2025 to 10.0.26100.32860, Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19045.7291, Server 2019/Windows 10 1809 to 10.0.17763.8755, and Server 2012 to 6.2.9200.26079 - using standard Windows Update or WSUS/SCCM deployment. Because exploitation requires a user to open crafted content, effective compensating controls until patching completes are user-awareness guidance to avoid opening untrusted documents, images, or fonts, and application/attachment filtering at the mail and web gateway to strip risky graphics/metafile content; note these controls reduce but do not eliminate exposure and may block legitimate files, so they are stopgaps rather than substitutes for the update.

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CVE-2026-35421 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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