CVE-2015-2368
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 · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows RT 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, aka "Windows DLL Remote Code Execution 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 DLL search path hijacking vulnerability where Windows applications load DLLs from the current working directory before checking system directories. A local attacker can place a malicious DLL in a directory that a privileged process will access, causing that process to load the attacker's code with elevated privileges.
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= r2= r2CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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.
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Check Windows version against affected productsRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo' from command prompt and identify the exact Windows version and build numberAffected if The version is Windows 7 (any), Windows 8.1 (any), Windows Rt 8.1 (any), Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 R2
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Verify security update KB3067505 is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe get hotfixid' and search for KB3067505Affected if The security update KB3067505 is NOT installed on the system
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Identify services running from user-writable directoriesUse Process Explorer or run 'wmic process get name,executablepath,workingsetsize' to identify services or processes that may execute from directories accessible to standard usersAffected if Any privileged service or process runs from or loads DLLs from a user-writable directory such as a shared network folder or user-accessible path
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Audit DLL search order behaviorUse Sysinternals Process Monitor (procmon) with filter 'Operation starts with LoadImage' to capture DLL loading events and verify if any process loads DLLs from current working directory before system pathsAffected if Any elevated-privilege process loads DLLs from the current working directory instead of using secure search order
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Check for known vulnerable DLL locationsReview application installation directories and common working directories for unexpected DLL files with suspicious names (e.g., same names as system DLLs but in non-standard locations)Affected if Malicious DLL files exist in directories where privileged processes operate
The system is affected if it runs any affected Windows version (7, 8.1, Rt 8.1, Server 2008 R2, or Server 2012 R2) AND the security update KB3067505 is not installed AND privileged processes load DLLs from user-writable directories.
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 for this vulnerability and ensure that applications use secure DLL search order settings (e.g., SetDllDirectory with an empty string to remove current directory from search order).
- 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-2015-2368 — 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-2015-2368 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data