Windows 2003 ServerOperating system · Microsoft

CVE-2015-2417

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-07-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
OLE in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 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 remote attackers to gain privileges via crafted input, as demonstrated by a transition from Low Integrity to Medium Integrity, aka "OLE Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-2416.

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 confidence

OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) elevation of privilege vulnerability affecting Windows Vista SP2 through Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 through 2012 R2. Allows remote attackers to gain elevated privileges via crafted input, specifically demonstrated by transitioning from Low Integrity to Medium Integrity level.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates via Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems. This is a Microsoft-released patch that should be deployed through standard patching procedures.

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
Windows 2003 ServerOperating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows RtOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

CVSS 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
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo' from command prompt to obtain the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version is NOT Windows 2003 Server (any), Windows 7 (any), Windows 8 (any), Windows 8.1 (any), Windows Rt (any), Windows Rt 8.1 (any), Windows Server 2008 (any), or Windows Server 2012 (any)
  2. Verify security update KB3061518 is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or check 'View installed updates' in Control Panel for KB3061518
    Affected if The update KB3061518 is NOT installed on the system
  3. Check OLE component version
    Locate ole32.dll in C:\Windows\System32\, right-click, select Properties, and note the File Version
    Affected if The ole32.dll version is lower than the version shipped with the security patch (typically earlier than 6.2.9200.17581 or 6.3.9600.17836 depending on OS)
  4. Confirm OLE functionality is present
    Verify the system actively uses OLE components by checking for applications that rely on OLE embedding or linking (common in legacy Office documents, RTF files, or ActiveX controls)
    Affected if The system processes OLE-embedded content (documents, RTF files, ActiveX objects) without the security update applied

The system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND lacks the KB3061518 security update, particularly when processing OLE content that could trigger Low-to-Medium Integrity elevation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates via Windows Update or enterprise patch management systems. This is a Microsoft-released patch that should be deployed through standard patching procedures.

Fix this in Windows 2003 Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-2417 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-2417 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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