CVE-2015-0075
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 · uneditedThe kernel in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 SP1 does not properly constrain impersonation levels, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Impersonation Level Check 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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows kernel where improper validation of impersonation levels allows a local attacker to elevate privileges from a low-privilege process to SYSTEM level by running a specially crafted application. The vulnerability affects Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2/R2 SP1, and Windows 7 SP1.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versionsCVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows version and buildRun 'systeminfo' from command prompt or check 'winver'. Look for the OS Name, Version, and Build number in the output.Affected if The system is Windows Vista (any version), Windows Server 2008 (any version including R2), Windows 7 (any version), or Windows Server 2003 (any version).
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Confirm service pack levelCheck the OS version details from systeminfo or winver to identify if Service Pack 2 is installed for Vista/2003, or Service Pack 1 for Windows 7/Server 2008.Affected if The system is running an older service pack level than the minimum specified in the CVE (SP2 for Vista/2003, SP1 for 2008/7), or the service pack is unknown.
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Verify if security update MS15-010 is installedRun 'wmic qfe list | findstr KB3035132' or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates and search for security update KB3035132.Affected if The security update KB3035132 (MS15-010) is NOT installed on the system.
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Check kernel version via registryOpen Registry Editor and navigate to 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion', or run 'ver' command at cmd.exe to check the build number.Affected if The kernel build number is lower than the build that includes the MS15-010 fix for your Windows version.
The system is affected if it runs any version of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2003 and does not have security update KB3035132 installed.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Microsoft security update (MS15-010) which addresses this kernel-level flaw. For systems no longer under mainstream support, consider deploying Extended Security Updates or migrating to supported Windows versions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-0075 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-0075 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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
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