Windows GDI

The Microsoft® Windows® graphics device interface (GDI) enables applications to use graphics and formatted text on both the video display and the printer. Windows-based applications do not access the graphics hardware directly. Instead, GDI interacts with device drivers on behalf of applications.

Security Considerations

GDI generally has few security concerns because it deals with display rather than input. However, here are a few issues that you should consider.

Bitmaps, metafiles, and fonts are complex structures that could become corrupted. It is good practice to try to ensure that these items are uncorrupted and from a trustworthy source.

On Windows NT/2000/XP, an application can specify the security descriptor for some of the printing and spooling APIs. You should take care when setting the security descriptor.