Description

Use of uninitialized resource in Windows GDI+ allows an authorized attacker to disclose information locally.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "5.5",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-11T17:18:20.810Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-11T17:18:20.810Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A vulnerability exists within the Windows Graphics Device Interface Plus (GDI+) component, specifically characterized as the use of an uninitialized resource. This security flaw enables a locally authenticated threat actor to execute unauthorized read operations, culminating in the disclosure of sensitive system memory and local information.\nThe affected product is the Windows GDI+ subsystem across applicable Microsoft Windows operating system environments. The primary risk implication involves unauthorized information leakage, which could potentially expose cryptographic keys, internal memory addresses, or application-specific data structures to an attacker, facilitating subsequent exploitation phases such as bypasses against address space layout randomization (ASLR).\nExploitation of this vulnerability requires local access to the target host and the ability to execute an attacker-supplied binary or script. The attacker must possess valid local authorization to interact with the vulnerable GDI+ API functions. Because the flaw stems from improper initialization of internal resources rather than memory corruption or execution control hijacking, the immediate impact is strictly limited to information disclosure without granting remote code execution capabilities directly through this vector.",
  "technicalDetails": "The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper handling and initialization of internal memory structures or resource handles within the Windows GDI+ rendering engine. When specific graphics primitives, image parsing routines, or device context operations are invoked via the GDI+ API, the underlying component fails to initialize a designated memory buffer or object before processing data or returning execution state to the calling application.\nThe vulnerable component is the Windows GDI+ dynamic link library (DLL), which processes graphical file formats and handles rendering operations for user-space applications. Because the resource remains uninitialized, subsequent read operations directed at the affected structure inadvertently capture residual data residing within the allocated heap or stack memory spaces.\nThe attack flow proceeds as follows: First, an authenticated local attacker crafts a specialized input file or executes a malicious application designed to interface with the vulnerable GDI+ API functions. Second, the application invokes the graphics subsystem to process the malformed graphical data or trigger the specific API call sequence that initializes the defective resource path. Third, due to the absence of proper initialization routines, the GDI+ component processes the request while leaving the targeted resource uninitialized. Fourth, the application reads the output or error state generated by the GDI+ component, which now contains residual memory contents from previous operations. Finally, the attacker extracts the sensitive information from the returned data structures, achieving localized information disclosure.\nAuthentication and privilege requirements dictate that the attacker must have local access to the system and standard user privileges to execute the payload. The attack vector is strictly local, precluding remote network exploitation. The payload behavior centers entirely on data extraction rather than process crash or arbitrary code execution, rendering the post-exploitation impact largely centered around gathering intelligence necessary to defeat advanced host-based mitigations."
}