CVE-2015-1761
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 SQL Server 2008 SP3 and SP4, 2008 R2 SP2 and SP3, 2012 SP1 and SP2, and 2014 uses an incorrect class during casts of unspecified pointers, which allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges by leveraging certain write access, aka "SQL Server 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 · moderate confidenceThis is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Microsoft SQL Server where incorrect class casting of unspecified pointers allows an authenticated remote user to gain elevated privileges. The attacker needs certain write access to the database to exploit this vulnerability.
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= 2008= 2012= 2014CVSS 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
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 installed SQL Server versionRun SELECT @@VERSION in SQL Server Management Studio or sqlcmd, or check SQL Server services in Windows Services/Control Panel Programs and FeaturesAffected if Version matches SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2012, or SQL Server 2014 (any build/edition)
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Determine if untrusted authenticated users have database write accessReview database roles and permissions for non-admin user accounts, particularly focusing on db_owner, db_datawriter, or custom roles with write permissions on user databasesAffected if Untrusted or low-privilege authenticated users have write access to any database on the server
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Check if SQL Server is exposed to remote network accessVerify SQL Server network protocols and firewall rules - examine SQL Server Configuration Manager for enabled network protocols (TCP/IP, Named Pipes) and review network firewall permissionsAffected if SQL Server accepts remote authenticated connections from untrusted networks or users
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Verify if MS15-058 security update is installedCheck Windows Update history, or run 'Get-HotFix -Description SecurityUpdate' in PowerShell, or manually check for installed KB3065718Affected if The MS15-058 security update (KB3065718) is NOT installed on the system
User is affected if SQL Server 2008, 2012, or 2014 is running AND the server accepts remote authenticated connections from users who have any database write access but are not already highly privileged.
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 relevant Microsoft security update (MS15-058) to all affected SQL Server installations and verify database functionality after patching.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-1761 — 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-2015-1761 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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