dbcve.org
Sharepoint FoundationApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2014-2816

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-08-12
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
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 Gold and SP1 and SharePoint Foundation 2013 Gold and SP1 allow remote authenticated users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse app that executes a custom action in the context of the SharePoint extensibility model, aka "SharePoint Page Content 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 · moderate confidence

This is a privilege escalation vulnerability in SharePoint Server 2013 and SharePoint Foundation 2013. An authenticated user can deploy a malicious SharePoint app (Trojan horse) that executes a custom action within the SharePoint extensibility model, allowing the attacker to gain elevated privileges beyond their assigned permissions.

MitigationReview and restrict the SharePoint app catalog to trusted apps only, disable or limit the ability for users to install apps, and apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2014-2816. Implement least-privilege permissions for app execution.

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
Sharepoint FoundationApplication
Affected:= 2013
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2013

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Verify SharePoint 2013 is installed
    Open SharePoint Management Shell and run: (Get-SPFarm).BuildVersion or check Programs and Features for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 or Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013
    Affected if The installed version is SharePoint Server 2013 or SharePoint Foundation 2013 and the environment has not been patched
  2. Confirm SharePoint Apps feature is enabled
    In SharePoint Central Administration, go to System Settings > Manage farm features or run Get-SPFeature -Identity MarketplaceWebApp in SharePoint Management Shell
    Affected if The 'Marketplace Web App' or SharePoint Apps feature is listed as Active/Enabled
  3. Check app catalog site collection existence
    Run Get-SPSite -Filter {AppCatalog -eq $true} in SharePoint Management Shell or browse to /sites/AppCatalog/ within your SharePoint web application
    Affected if An app catalog site collection exists and is accessible
  4. Verify user permission to install apps
    In SharePoint Central Administration, go to Apps > Manage App Catalog and check the users or groups listed under 'Can Add Items', or run Get-SPUser in the app catalog site to see who has Add permissions
    Affected if Regular authenticated users (non-admins) have permissions to add or install apps in the catalog
  5. Check if security update KB2956076 is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run: Get-HotFix -Id KB2956076 on SharePoint servers
    Affected if The KB2956076 update is NOT listed among installed updates

The environment is affected if it runs SharePoint 2013 with the Apps feature enabled, has an accessible app catalog, allows non-admin users to install apps, and lacks the KB2956076 security update.

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

Review and restrict the SharePoint app catalog to trusted apps only, disable or limit the ability for users to install apps, and apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2014-2816. Implement least-privilege permissions for app execution.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 with Service Pack 1 or later cumulative updates

  1. Check the current SharePoint 2013 build version via Central Administration > System Settings > Manage servers in this farm
  2. Locate and apply the security update from Microsoft Security Bulletin MS14-022, which addresses this vulnerability for SharePoint 2013 products
  3. After applying the update, verify the farm configuration using the SharePoint Health Analyzer
  4. Confirm the update was applied successfully by checking the installed updates via Windows Update or the specific patch KB2880994
Caveat Applying security updates to SharePoint requires farm downtime and should be tested in a staging environment first; ensure backups exist before applying patches

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

Fix this in Sharepoint Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2014-2816 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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