Microsoft ATM Font Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2015-2387)
Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
ATMFD.DLL in the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "ATMFD.DLL Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.
- Affected
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008
eq r2..r2 - Microsoft Windows Server 2012
eq r2..r2
- Microsoft Windows Server 2008
Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability
Metrics
7.8
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: NVD, CVSS v3
7.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: CVE.org
34.9 %
EPSS score
Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.4
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Critical
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 216.49 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- actively exploited
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.8 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.8
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 34.9 %
- Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 98.4
- Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- Actively exploited
- Published
In CISA KEV since
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- CISA assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
- Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 10 February 2025
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-787
Response and mitigation
Why act now?
Prioritisation rationale
This is a low-complexity local privilege escalation to SYSTEM that requires only a low-privileged foothold and no user interaction. Attackers use it as the second stage after a browser or document exploit to escape sandboxes and take full control of the host. Despite its age, exploitation likelihood remains very high because public exploit code has circulated for years. CISA does not flag known ransomware use. On a well-maintained Windows 10/11 estate the exposure is negligible, but any surviving EoL Windows in OT, medical devices or terminal servers should be treated as high priority and isolated or protected with DisableATMFD without delay.
Runbook step 1
Immediate response (0-24 h)
- Inventory: Identify every host running Windows Server 2003 SP2, Vista SP2, Server 2008 SP2/R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, 8/8.1, Server 2012/2012 R2 or Windows RT, using CMDB, EDR inventory or an AD query on
operatingSystem. Expect these in OT, lab and legacy-application enclaves, as most are end-of-life. - Patch: Apply the security update from Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-077 (July 2015). Verify the per-OS KB number in the vendor advisory, then confirm the
atmfd.dllfile version in%SystemRoot%\System32matches the version listed there. - Workaround where patching is impossible: Disable ATMFD by setting
DisableATMFD(REG_DWORD) to1underHKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows, then reboot. Applications that rely on OpenType/Type 1 fonts via ATMFD will lose rendering, so test business-critical apps first. - Compromise assessment: On unpatched multi-user hosts (RDS, Citrix, jump servers), review recent local-admin and service-account logons. If anything looks suspicious, rotate LAPS, service and any cached domain-admin credentials.
- Contain EoL systems: Move unsupported hosts (Server 2003, Vista, and Windows 7 or Server 2008 without ESU) into a restricted segment and limit interactive access to named administrators.
- Inventory: Identify every host running Windows Server 2003 SP2, Vista SP2, Server 2008 SP2/R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, 8/8.1, Server 2012/2012 R2 or Windows RT, using CMDB, EDR inventory or an AD query on
Runbook step 2
Mitigation layers
- Network segmentation: Place legacy hosts in a dedicated VLAN/zone. Block outbound internet (HTTP/HTTPS, SMB 445) to stop payload staging and remote font retrieval, and allow administration only through an MFA-protected jump host.
- Application control: Use AppLocker or Software Restriction Policies to block execution from user-writable paths (
%TEMP%,%APPDATA%,Downloads,C:\Users\Public). The exploit requires an attacker-launched binary, so allowlisting breaks the chain. - Least privilege: Remove
SeInteractiveLogonRight/SeRemoteInteractiveLogonRightfor standard users on unpatched servers. Shared RDS hosts with vulnerable ATMFD are the top priority. - Harden the initial vector: This bug is typically chained after a browser, Office or PDF reader RCE. On legacy hosts, block Office macros via GPO, remove Flash and Java plug-ins, and filter font attachments (
.otf,.pfb,.pfm,.ttf) at the mail gateway. - Migration: Windows 10 and later no longer parse fonts in the kernel, so retiring the affected OS versions is the only durable fix. Record the residual risk in the risk register (ISO 27001 A.8.8).
Runbook step 3
Detection rules
- Privilege jump in process tree (Sysmon EID 1 / Security 4688): Alert on child processes running as
NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEMwhose parent runs as a standard user at Medium/Low integrity. Sigma shape:ParentUser|not: 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM'ANDUser: 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM'ANDImage|endswith: ['\cmd.exe','\powershell.exe','\rundll32.exe']. - Kernel crashes (System log EID 1001 BugCheck, EID 41): BSODs that reference
atmfd.dllorwin32k.sysoften indicate failed exploit attempts. SPL:index=wineventlog EventCode=1001 ("atmfd" OR "win32k"). - Font files in user paths (Sysmon EID 11): Watch for
.otf,.pfbor.pfmfiles created outsideC:\Windows\Fonts, especially by browsers, Office orAcroRd32.exe. KQL:DeviceFileEvents | where FileName matches regex @"\.(otf|pfb|pfm)$" and FolderPath !startswith @"C:\Windows\Fonts". - Special privileges for non-admins (Security 4672 / 4673): Flag
SeDebugPrivilegeorSeTcbPrivilegeassigned to accounts outside admin groups, correlated with a preceding Office, browser or PDF process start on the same host. - EDR ancestry chain: Alert at high severity on
winword.exe/iexplore.exe/AcroRd32.exe→ unknown EXE in%TEMP%→cmd.exerunning as SYSTEM.
- Privilege jump in process tree (Sysmon EID 1 / Security 4688): Alert on child processes running as
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
ATMFD.DLL in the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "ATMFD.DLL Memory Corruption Vulnerability."
Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)
Vendors and products
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows 7
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8 Professional Edition
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows 8.1
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows RT Gold
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows RT 8.1
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows Server 2003
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows Server 2008
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows Server 2012
- Microsoft Microsoft Windows Vista Gold on X64
Affected operating systems
| Windows | microsoft | windows_7 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_8 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_8.1 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_rt | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_rt_8.1 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_server_2003 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_server_2008 | r2 |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_server_2008 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_server_2012 | r2 |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_server_2012 | — |
| Windows | microsoft | windows_vista | — |
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
Base
The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Entry at MITRE CWE-787
Public exploit references
Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.
| CISA KEV Catalog | CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.gov | actively exploited |
References & sources
- docs.microsoft.comMS15-077Vendor advisory, x_refsource_MS, Patch, Vendor advisory
- securityfocus.com75587Vulnerability database, x_refsource_BID, Broken link, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
- securitytracker.com1032908Vulnerability database, x_refsource_SECTRACK, Broken link, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
- us-cert.govTA15-195AThird-party advisory, x_refsource_CERT, Third-party advisory, US government resource
- cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2015-2387government-resource, US government resource
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2015-2387"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2015-2387.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2015-2387 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>