CVE-2015-2371
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 Windows Installer service in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2 and R2 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a custom action script associated with a .msi package, aka "Windows Installer EoP 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 Installer service. Attackers with local access can exploit custom action scripts within malicious .msi packages to elevate their privileges, potentially gaining administrator or system-level access. The vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions from Server 2003 through Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2.
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 versions= r2all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= 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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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo' to determine the installed Windows version and build numberAffected if The OS is Windows 2003 Server (any version), Windows 7 (any version), Windows 8 (any version), Windows 8.1 (any version), Windows Rt (any version), Windows Rt 8.1 (any version), Windows Server 2008 (any version), or Windows Server 2012 (any version)
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Verify MS15-080 patch installationRun 'wmic qfe list | findstr KB3067505' or check the Windows Update history for security update KB3067505Affected if The security update KB3067505 (MS15-080) is NOT installed on the system
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Confirm Windows Installer service presenceVerify the Windows Installer service exists by running 'msiexec /?' from command promptAffected if The Windows Installer service is available (which it is by default on all affected Windows versions)
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Check for pending system updatesRun 'systeminfo' and review the 'Hotfix(s)' section or check Windows Update for any pending security updatesAffected if There are unapplied security updates and the system shows as not fully patched
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND the MS15-080 security update (KB3067505) is not 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 MS15-080 which addresses this vulnerability. Organizations should also review and restrict who can execute MSI packages and consider application whitelisting to prevent execution of untrusted installers.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-2371 — 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-2015-2371 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