Medium

Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

IdentifiersCVE-2015-0003CWE-476· NULL Pointer Dereference

A local elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Windows kernel-mode driver Win32k.sys affects 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, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT, and Windows RT 8.1. The flaw is caused by improper handling of objects in memory in Win32k.sys and can be triggered by a crafted local application. Available reporting also associates the issue with a NULL pointer dereference condition. Successful exploitation allows a locally authenticated attacker to elevate execution from a low-privilege context to higher privileges, including SYSTEM, and may also crash the system.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation enables a local user to gain elevated privileges on the affected system, potentially reaching SYSTEM-level execution. This can be used to fully compromise the host, disable security controls, access or modify protected data, install persistent malware, and pivot to additional post-exploitation activity. In some cases the flaw may instead result in a denial of service through a system crash caused by NULL pointer dereference.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, restrict local code execution opportunities, minimize interactive logon rights, and enforce least privilege to reduce the chance of a local attacker reaching the vulnerable code path. For Windows 7, Microsoft provided a workaround to disable NULL page mapping through the EnableLowVaAccess setting. Additional compensating controls include application allowlisting, limiting untrusted software execution, and monitoring for suspicious local privilege-escalation behavior targeting Win32k.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the Microsoft security update associated with bulletin MS15-010 / security bulletin 3036220, including update 3013455 for affected platforms. Ensure all supported Windows versions listed as affected are updated to the vendor-fixed builds. Because exploit code has been publicly available and the vulnerability has been used by malware for privilege escalation, patching should be prioritized on exposed and legacy systems.

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 1 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

Microsoft CorporationWindows 7operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows 8operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows 8.1operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Rtoperating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Rt 8.1operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2003operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2008operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2012operating_system

Microsoft CorporationWindows Vistaoperating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

3 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

3 SOURCESView more in app

microsoft technet subdomainNews

Mar 1, 2023

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-010 - Critical | Microsoft Learn

An elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32k.sys) caused by improper handling of objects in memory.

paloalto researchcenter historicNews

Jan 6, 2017

2016 Updates to Shifu Banking Trojan

A Microsoft Windows privilege escalation vulnerability previously used by earlier Shifu versions to gain elevated privileges.

virusbulletinNews

Nov 2, 2015

Virus Bulletin :: Shifu - the rise of a self-destructive banking trojan

A local privilege escalation vulnerability on Windows 7 and above that can elevate a process to SYSTEM privileges; the Shifu banking trojan attempts to exploit it.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

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Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware2

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity