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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 15 Jun 2022.
Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2015-0016

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2015-01-13
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit No privileges Patch available

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
Directory traversal vulnerability in the TS WebProxy (aka TSWbPrxy) component in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows remote attackers to gain privileges via a crafted pathname in an executable file, as demonstrated by a transition from Low Integrity to Medium Integrity, aka "Directory Traversal Elevation of Privilege 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

Directory traversal vulnerability in Windows Terminal Services Web Proxy (TS WebProxy) allows remote attackers to elevate privileges from Low Integrity to Medium Integrity by using crafted pathnames in executable files.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS15-011 to patch the directory traversal vulnerability in affected Windows systems running TS WebProxy.

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 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows RtOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows VistaOperating 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version
    Affected if The system runs Windows 7, 8, 8.1, RT, RT 8.1, Vista, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, or Server 2012 R2 (all versions of these)
  2. Check if TSWbPrxy.exe exists
    Search for the file TSWbPrxy.exe in the System32 folder: 'dir C:\Windows\System32\TSWbPrxy.exe' or 'Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\TSWbPrxy.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue'
    Affected if The TSWbPrxy.exe file exists on the system (vulnerability is present if component is enabled)
  3. Check TS WebProxy service status
    Run 'sc query TSWbPrxy' or 'Get-Service -Name TSWbPrxy -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' to query the service
    Affected if The TS WebProxy service is installed and in a running state (vulnerability is active)
  4. Verify Remote Desktop Services configuration
    Check Remote Desktop configuration via Registry at 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TSWbPrxy' or via Services console (services.msc) looking for 'TS WebProxy' entry
    Affected if TS WebProxy is listed as an installed service regardless of startup type (vulnerable component is present)

A system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version AND has the TS WebProxy (TSWbPrxy) component installed and enabled, allowing a Low Integrity process to potentially elevate to Medium Integrity through the directory traversal flaw.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS15-011 to patch the directory traversal vulnerability in affected Windows systems running TS WebProxy.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2015-0016. This vulnerability was addressed in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-004.
  2. Open Windows Update on the affected system and check for available security updates.
  3. Install the security update specifically addressing the TS WebProxy directory traversal vulnerability.
  4. Alternatively, download the security update from the Microsoft Download Center using the KB article number associated with MS15-004.
  5. Restart the system after applying the update to ensure the vulnerability is fully mitigated.
  6. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking the installed updates list.

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2015-0016 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