Privilege escalation in Microsoft Windows and Windows Server - CVE-2015-1769
Published: February 6, 2017 / Updated: November 20, 2020
Vulnerability identifier: #VU5611
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2015-1769
CWE-ID: CWE-59
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
The vulnerability is being exploited in the wild
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the target system.
The vulnerability exists due to improper processing of symbolic links by Mount Manager. By inserting a specially crafted USB device into the system, an attacker can create arbitrary files and execute malicious code with SYSTEM privileges.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in arbitrary code execution on the vulnerable system.
Note: the vulnerability was being actively exploited.
Affected software
Microsoft Windows
Windows Server
Windows Server
How to mitigate CVE-2015-1769
Install update from vendor's website.