CVE-2019-15315
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 · uneditedValve Steam Client for Windows through 2019-08-16 allows privilege escalation (to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM) because local users can replace the current versions of SteamService.exe and SteamService.dll with older versions that lack the CVE-2019-14743 patch.
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 confidenceA local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Valve Steam Client for Windows where local authenticated users can replace SteamService.exe and SteamService.dll with older unpatched versions that lack the CVE-2019-14743 fix, enabling elevation to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 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 data<= 2019-08-16CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 Steam installation path and versionLocate the Steam installation directory (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam or C:\Program Files\Steam) and check the version. Right-click on steam.exe, select Properties, then Details to view the File Version. Alternatively, run 'steam -version' from command line in the Steam directory.Affected if The installed version is dated 2019-08-16 or earlier, meaning it predates the CVE-2019-14743 fix and is within the affected range.
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Verify SteamService.exe existsNavigate to the Steam installation directory and confirm that SteamService.exe is present. This is the service executable that could be replaced with a vulnerable version.Affected if SteamService.exe exists in the Steam directory and the Steam Client version is <= 2019-08-16, indicating the file may be vulnerable to replacement.
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Verify SteamService.dll existsNavigate to the Steam installation directory and confirm that SteamService.dll is present. This is the service DLL that could be replaced with an older unpatched version.Affected if SteamService.dll exists in the Steam directory and the Steam Client version is <= 2019-08-16, indicating the file may be vulnerable to replacement.
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Check file permissions on SteamService.exe and SteamService.dllRight-click on SteamService.exe and SteamService.dll, select Properties, then go to the Security tab. Check which users and groups have Write or Full Control permissions. From command line, use 'icacls SteamService.exe' and 'icacls SteamService.dll' to view permission entries.Affected if Non-admin users or potentially compromised accounts have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on SteamService.exe or SteamService.dll, allowing them to replace these files with vulnerable versions.
You are affected if the Steam Client version is dated 2019-08-16 or earlier AND non-privileged users have write permissions on SteamService.exe or SteamService.dll in the Steam installation directory, enabling file replacement for privilege escalation.
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 dataEnsure proper file permissions on the Steam installation directory to prevent unauthorized modification of service executables and DLLs, and apply the available Steam client patch.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-15315 — 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-2019-15315 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data