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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 10 Mar 2026.
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system · Microsoft

CVE-2008-0015

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2009-07-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Stack-based buffer overflow in the CComVariant::ReadFromStream function in the Active Template Library (ATL), as used in the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control in msvidctl.dll in DirectShow, in Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP2, Vista Gold, SP1, and SP2, and Server 2008 Gold and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web page, as exploited in the wild in July 2009, aka "Microsoft Video ActiveX Control Vulnerability."

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in CComVariant::ReadFromStream function in ATL library, specifically in the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control (msvidctl.dll) in DirectShow. Allows remote code execution via crafted web page through malicious stream data overflows the stack.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for this ATL vulnerability; alternatively, set the kill bit to disable the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control in Internet Explorer or disable ActiveX controls entirely.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine if the system is Windows XP or Windows Server 2003. These are the only affected versions.
    Affected if The system runs Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 (any version). If running Vista or later, the system is not affected by this specific vulnerability.
  2. Verify MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control is registered
    Check the registry for the ActiveX control CLSID at 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1365C2D3-2281-11D3-B351-00A0C9065BF0}'. Use 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{1365C2D3-2281-11D3-B351-00A0C9065BF0}"' (or HKCU).
    Affected if The CLSID key exists, indicating the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control is registered on the system.
  3. Confirm msvidctl.dll is present
    Check if msvidctl.dll exists in the System32 folder: 'dir %WINDIR%\System32\msvidctl.dll'. This DLL contains the vulnerable ActiveX control.
    Affected if The file msvidctl.dll exists on the system.
  4. Check if killbit is set for the ActiveX control
    Query the registry for the killbit value at 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{1365C2D3-2281-11D3-B351-00A0C9065BF0}'. Look for 'Compatibility Flags' with value 0x00000400 (decimal 1024).
    Affected if The killbit is NOT set (no 'Compatibility Flags' DWORD with value 0x00000400), meaning the ActiveX control is allowed to run in Internet Explorer.
  5. Check if MS09-037 security patch is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list | findstr "KB973346"' or check 'Add/Remove Programs' for security update KB973346 (MS09-037).
    Affected if The MS09-037 patch (KB973346) is NOT installed, leaving the vulnerability unpatched.

A system is affected if it runs Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, has msvidctl.dll present, has the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control registered, lacks the killbit protection, and is missing the MS09-037 patch.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for this ATL vulnerability; alternatively, set the kill bit to disable the MPEG2TuneRequest ActiveX control in Internet Explorer or disable ActiveX controls entirely.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. For modern security, migrate to a supported Windows version such as Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016/2019/2022.

  1. Locate and open Windows Update in the Control Panel or run 'wuauclt /detectnow' to check for available updates
  2. Search for Microsoft Security Bulletin MS09-037, which addresses this ATL vulnerability
  3. Install security update KB973965 (or the cumulative update containing it) which patches the vulnerable CComVariant::ReadFromStream function in msvidctl.dll
  4. Restart the system as required after the update installs
  5. Alternatively, download the specific patch from the Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21586 (for XP/Server 2003)
  6. Verify the patch is installed by checking 'Add or Remove Programs' for 'Security Update for Windows (KB973965)'
Caveat Windows XP and Server 2003 are end-of-life and no longer receive security updates; continuing to use them poses significant security risk. The upgrade path requires migration to supported Windows versions as there is no longer a patch available for these legacy systems.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 2003 Server Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-0015 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data