CVE-2015-1759
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Office Compatibility Pack SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Office document, aka "Microsoft Office Memory Corruption 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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack SP3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted Office documents. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of objects in memory when parsing malicious files, enabling code execution in the context of the current user.
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 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select DisplayName' in PowerShell to list installed programsAffected if Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack appears in the installed programs list
-
Determine the installed version of Office Compatibility PackRight-click the installed program in Programs and Features and select 'Change' or 'Properties' to view the version, or check the file version of the main executable in the installation directoryAffected if The displayed version does not match a patched version after applying KB2965237 or KB2965239
-
Check if security update KB2965237 is installedOpen Control Panel > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "KB2965237"}' in PowerShellAffected if The KB2965237 update is NOT listed in installed updates
-
Check if security update KB2965239 is installedRun 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "KB2965239"}' in PowerShell or check Windows Update historyAffected if The KB2965239 update is NOT listed in installed updates
-
Identify if the software processes untrusted Office documentsReview document handling workflows to determine if users open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files from external or untrusted sources using the Compatibility PackAffected if Users routinely open documents from untrusted or unknown sources using the Compatibility Pack
If Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installed and neither KB2965237 nor KB2965239 has been applied, the environment is vulnerable to code execution via malicious Office documents.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply Microsoft security updates KB2965237 and KB2965239 (or later) to patch the vulnerability, or upgrade to a supported version of Microsoft Office. Users should avoid opening untrusted Office documents from unknown sources.
Microsoft Office 365 or a currently supported version of Office (Office 2016/2019/2021)
- Open Windows Update or Microsoft Update to check for available security updates
- Locate the security update for Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack from March 2015 (part of MS15-022)
- Install security update KB3039798 or the equivalent update for your version of Office Compatibility Pack
- Restart the computer after applying the update
- Verify the update was installed successfully by checking the installed updates
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1759 — 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-2015-1759 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data