CVE-2015-6175
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 kernel in Microsoft Windows 10 Gold allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows Kernel Memory 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 confidenceA memory handling vulnerability in the Windows 10 kernel allows a local authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated (kernel-level) privileges by running a specially crafted application, achieving complete system compromise.
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 versionsCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Windows 10 build versionRun `winver` or `systeminfo` from command prompt and note the build number displayedAffected if The build number is 10240 (Windows 10 version 1507, also known as Threshold 1)
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Verify the exact Windows edition and version stringRun `winver` and check the "About Windows" dialog or execute `reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" /v CurrentBuild`Affected if The CurrentBuild value is 10240 or the version displays as "Windows 10" without a later feature update designation
The system is affected if it is running Windows 10 1507 (build 10240), as all versions of this specific release are vulnerable to kernel-level privilege escalation via this memory handling flaw.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS15-121) to all affected Windows 10 Gold systems, or ensure Windows Update is enabled and systems are patched to at least the November 2015 cumulative update.
Windows 10 1511 (November Update) or later
- Open Windows Update by swiping in from the right edge of the screen (or press Windows key + W), then tap or click Settings > Update and recovery > Windows Update.
- Tap or click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
- If updates are found, tap or click Install updates. You may need to restart your computer after the updates are installed.
- Alternatively, verify the system has patches installed from November 2015 or later, which addressed this kernel privilege escalation vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,328.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-6175 — 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-2015-6175 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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- 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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