Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessDeliver crafted graphics data over network
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ExploitWindows GDI parses malformed structure
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ExecutionTrigger out-of-bounds read
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ImpactDisclose adjacent process memory
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
|
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that a vulnerable Windows GDI code path parse attacker-supplied graphics/image data; Microsoft rates it as remote, unauthenticated, and interaction-free (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N), implying no special configuration beyond an unpatched system. The practical limiting factor is that impact is confined to disclosure of process memory (C:H, I:N, A:N) with no code execution or tampering, so value to an attacker is primarily as an ASLR-bypass or reconnaissance primitive feeding another exploit. A likely real-world constraint not reflected in the vector is that the target process must actually render attacker-controlled content through GDI, which in many deployments depends on a service or user action handling that data. |
| Impact | Signals are consistently moderate and point AWAY from this being a top-priority emergency despite the 7.5 'High' CVSS. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) describes an unauthenticated, low-complexity, no-interaction network vector, which looks severe in isolation, but impact is confined to confidentiality only (C:H/I:N/A:N) - this is an information-disclosure (out-of-bounds read) bug, not RCE. The EPSS score is low in absolute terms (0.93% probability of exploitation in 30 days) even though its 60th percentile ranking sounds mid-range; percentile and probability disagree because most CVEs score far lower, so a sub-1% probability is the dominant signal. CISA's SSVC decision framework corroborates low urgency: Exploitation=none, Automatable=no, Technical Impact=partial. There is no CISA KEV listing and no public exploit identified at time of analysis. One point to verify with the vendor: GDI graphics-parsing flaws typically require the target to process attacker-supplied image/document data, yet Microsoft rates this UI:N/AV:N (fully remote, no interaction) - if the real-world trigger requires a user to open crafted content, practical exploitability is lower than the vector implies. Net: patch on a normal cadence; this is a defense-in-depth memory-disclosure issue, not a drop-everything priority. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A remote attacker supplies specially crafted graphics/image data that a Windows service or application renders through the vulnerable GDI code path, triggering an out-of-bounds read. The leaked adjacent memory could contain pointers or secrets usable to defeat ASLR or stage a follow-on exploit. No public exploit code has been identified, and exploitation yields only information disclosure (no code execution or modification on its own). |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv2 – Oct 16, 2026
An out-of-bounds read in Microsoft Windows GDI allows an unauthenticated, network-reachable attacker to disclose process memory, yielding a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) with confidentiality impact only and no integrity or availability loss. Affected platforms span Windows 10 (1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2), Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, 25H2, 26H1, 26H2) and Windows Server 2012 through 2025 (including Server Core), all of which have vendor patches available. Exploitation status is unconfirmed: there is no CISA KEV listing and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis, EPSS is low at 0.93% (60th percentile), and CISA's SSVC framework rates exploitation as "none" with automatable "no" and technical impact "partial" - signals that are consistently moderate and point away from this being a top-priority emergency despite the High CVSS rating, with the leaked memory being most valuable as an ASLR-bypass or reconnaissance primitive feeding a chained exploit rather than as a standalone compromise.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
An out-of-bounds read in the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to disclose information from process memory when a targeted user opens or previews a specially crafted file or graphics object, yielding a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N). Successful exploitation is limited to confidentiality impact - memory contents leak, but no data modification or code execution is achieved - and requires user interaction (UI:R), which is the principal limiting factor on practical risk. At time of analysis there is no public exploit identified, CISA's SSVC decision framework records Exploitation: none and Automatable: no, and Microsoft has released vendor patches that fix the affected builds.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: apply Microsoft's monthly security update addressing CVE-2026-85797 per the MSRC advisory (https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-85797); patched build thresholds published by EUVD include 10.0.17763.9376 for Windows Server 2019 / Windows 10 1809, 10.0.19044.7807 for Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2, 10.0.14393.9612 for Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 1607, 10.0.20348.5761 for Windows Server 2022, 10.0.26100.33650 / 10.0.26100.9711 for Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2, 10.0.22631.7652 for Windows 11 23H2, 10.0.26200.9711 for Windows 11 25H2, 10.0.28000.3231 for Windows 11 26H1, 10.0.26300.9711 for Windows 11 26H2, 6.2.9200.26434 for Windows Server 2012 and 6.3.9600.23470 for Windows Server 2012 R2, with equivalently numbered cumulative updates for the remaining 26H-series builds. Because this is memory disclosure rather than code execution, patching is still the primary action but carries lower urgency than a same-score RCE: triage on internet-facing and multi-tenant systems that render untrusted graphics first, and note that until the update is applied there is no clean GDI-level switch to disable the subsystem without breaking desktop and print rendering broadly. Compensating controls with real trade-offs include confining untrusted image, document and metafile processing to sandboxed or low-privilege containers so disclosed memory belongs to a disposable context, enforcing script and macro restrictions in applications that forward remote content into GDI rendering paths, and restricting inbound paths that feed graphics data to exposed services - all of which reduce exposure but do not eliminate the parser defect. Confirm the applied build against the EUVD thresholds above, since the fix is delivered per Windows build rather than as a standalone installer, and monitor for chained exploitation attempts given the leak's value as an ASLR-bypass primitive.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 20 packages in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
GDI (Graphics Device Interface) is the legacy Windows kernel/user-mode graphics rendering subsystem responsible for drawing primitives, fonts, bitmaps and metafiles, and it remains reachable from a very large surface of applications and services that render attacker-influenced graphics content. The flaw is an out-of-bounds read (mapped to CWE-20, Improper Input Validation, in the NVD data, and tagged as a buffer-overflow-class memory-safety defect in the source feed), meaning the parser does not adequately validate the bounds of attacker-supplied image or graphics structures before reading from them and can return adjacent memory contents. CPE data confirms the exposure is to Windows operating system builds rather than a discrete application: Windows 10 1607/1809/21H2/22H2 (x86, x64, arm64), Windows 11 23H2/24H2/25H2/26H1/26H2, and Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, with Server Core installations explicitly listed. The CVSS vector sets C:H with I:N/A:N and PR:N/UI:N, i.e. Microsoft characterises the path as remote, unauthenticated and interaction-free, but the practical limiting factor is that a vulnerable GDI code path must actually parse attacker-controlled graphics or image data - in many deployments that depends on a service, rendering pipeline, or document viewer handling that content, so the real-world precondition is narrower than the vector alone implies. The EUVD record (EUVD-2026-99509) publishes the patch thresholds per build, which is the authoritative mapping of fixed versus vulnerable binaries.
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Aligns with the vendor: unauthenticated network-reachable GDI parsing (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N), confidentiality-only out-of-bounds read, so C:H with I:N/A:N and unchanged scope.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionNVD
Out-of-bounds read in Windows GDI allows an unauthorized attacker to disclose information over a network.
Executive ViewAI
A memory disclosure flaw in Microsoft Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) affects the full range of supported Windows client and server platforms, from Windows 10 and Windows 11 through Windows Server 2012-2025, including Server Core deployments. Successful exploitation could expose process memory to an unauthenticated, network-reachable attacker, but the exposure is limited to confidentiality - there is no integrity or availability loss, no confirmed active exploitation, and no public exploit code, so the primary risk is a leaked memory primitive that could be chained into a more serious attack rather than a standalone compromise. Leadership should treat this as a broad patch-management obligation across a large Windows estate rather than an emergency incident, prioritising internet-facing and high-value server systems.
Apply vendor patch.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
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EUVD-2026-99509
GHSA-qvjp-9pjx-9rrw
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
Exploit-DB