CVE-2015-2486

Vulnerability

CVE-2015-2486 is a memory corruption vulnerability affecting Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 through 11 and Microsoft Edge. The vulnerability exists in how these browsers handle objects in memory when processing a specially crafted website [1][2]. Affected versions include Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 on supported Windows clients and servers, and Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 [1][2].

Exploitation

An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by hosting a crafted website designed to trigger memory corruption in the target browser. No authentication or special privileges are required; the attacker only needs to convince a user to visit the malicious site, typically via email or link [1]. The user interaction is limited to viewing the page.

Impact

Successful exploitation could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the user has administrative rights, the attacker could gain full control of the system, including installing programs, viewing/changing data, and creating accounts [1]. The vulnerability is also rated Moderate on Windows servers due to reduced impact.

Mitigation

Microsoft released security updates in MS15-094 for Internet Explorer and MS15-095 for Microsoft Edge on September 8, 2015 [1][2]. Users should apply the cumulative updates (KB3089548 for IE, KB3081455 for Windows 10 containing Edge fixes) to protect against this vulnerability [1][2]. No workarounds are documented.