Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2017-0022 is a medium-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
Microsoft XML Core Services (MSXML) in Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607; Windows 7 SP1; Windows 8.1; Windows RT 8.1; Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1; Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2; Windows Server 2016; and Windows Vista SP2 contains an information disclosure vulnerability. The component improperly handles objects in memory, which can be leveraged to reveal the presence of arbitrary files on disk. The issue is tracked as CWE-119 with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and high confidentiality impact.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the flaw by convincing a user to visit a specially crafted web site under the attacker's control. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to test for the existence of files on the victim's local disk without requiring additional privileges or user interaction beyond visiting the page, resulting in targeted information disclosure.
The Microsoft Security Response Center advisory for CVE-2017-0022 provides official guidance on available patches and mitigations for the listed Windows versions. A related security blog post documents the vulnerability's incorporation into exploit kit activity, confirming real-world use for file-existence probing in the wild.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2017-0389
Vulnerability Data
Microsoft XML Core Services (MSXML) in Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607; Windows 7 SP1; Windows 8.1; Windows RT 8.1; Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1; Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2; Windows Server 2016; and Windows Vista SP2…
more
improperly handles objects in memory, allowing attackers to test for files on disk via a crafted web site, aka "Microsoft XML Information Disclosure Vulnerability."
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 24 May 2022
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.
Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.
Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.
Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
A.8.25 mandates secure SDLC practices (secure coding guidelines, security requirements, testing including code scans and penetration tests, developer training) that reach buffer management and can stop many buffer overruns from reaching production, but leaves a bounded remainder (e.g. flaws in non-software components, incomplete enforcement of guidelines, or post-deployment changes)
Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.
A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (e.g. least privilege, fail securely, distrust external input, hardening) plus design reviews that can catch and stop buffer-boundary errors before they reach code, but this is only one minority slice of CWE-119's broad surface (language-specific flaws, unsafe library use, compiler/runtime mitigations, and post-deployment instances remain outside its direct scope).
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.
Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-119, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-823.