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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Apr 2022. Known ransomware use
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2015-2546

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2015-09-09
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware Patch available

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
The kernel-mode driver in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT Gold and 8.1, and Windows 10 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Memory Corruption Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-2511, CVE-2015-2517, and CVE-2015-2518.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in the Windows win32k.sys kernel-mode driver allows local authenticated users to execute arbitrary code with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges by running a specially crafted application.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS15-101 or subsequent patches) to address the kernel-mode driver vulnerability. Prioritize patching domain controllers and servers handling sensitive workloads.

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 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Check Windows version
    Run 'systeminfo' or 'winver' and compare the OS version and build number against the affected list: Windows 7 (all), Windows 8 (all), Windows 8.1 (all), Windows 10 1507 (all), Windows RT (all), Windows RT 8.1 (all), Windows Server 2008 (all), Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 (all), Windows Server 2012 R2
    Affected if The installed Windows version matches any of the affected versions listed in the CVE
  2. Confirm win32k.sys is present
    Verify the kernel driver win32k.sys exists in the System32\drivers directory (standard on all affected Windows installations)
    Affected if The system is a supported Windows version and win32k.sys is present
  3. Assess local user access
    Review local user accounts and groups using 'net user' or Computer Management to identify non-admin users with local logon rights
    Affected if There are local authenticated users other than Administrators on the system (these users could potentially exploit the flaw)
  4. Check for security updates
    View installed updates via 'Get-HotFix' PowerShell command or Control Panel and look for KBxxxxxx patches, particularly MS15-101 or subsequent cumulative updates
    Affected if The system is missing the MS15-101 security update or later cumulative updates addressing this kernel vulnerability

The system is affected if it runs any Windows version listed as affected AND lacks the security update that addresses the win32k.sys privilege escalation vulnerability.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates (MS15-101 or subsequent patches) to address the kernel-mode driver vulnerability. Prioritize patching domain controllers and servers handling sensitive workloads.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to a currently supported Windows version (Windows 10 21H2+/Windows 11) with active security updates; for servers, consider Windows Server 2019/2022

  1. Identify the exact Windows version and architecture (32-bit or 64-bit) running on the affected system
  2. Open Windows Update or check Microsoft Update Catalog for available security updates
  3. For Windows 7 and Server 2008/2012: Install the MS15-101 security update (or subsequent cumulative updates containing the fix)
  4. Alternatively, download the specific security update from Microsoft Update Catalog using the KB article associated with MS15-101 (KB3089659)
  5. Restart the system after applying the security update
  6. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking the installed updates list
Caveat Windows 7, 8.1, Server 2008/2012 are end-of-life; moving to newer Windows versions may require application compatibility testing and user training

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-2546 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2015-2546 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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