CVE-2015-1697 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2015-1697
Vulnerability Scoring

9.3
/10
Critical Threat

An extreme security risk, CVE-2015-1697 must be addressed immediately to prevent system compromise.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Medium
    Attack Complexity Analysis In Progress
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No authentication is required for exploitation.
  • Scope:
    Impact is confined to the initially vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2015-1697 Details

Status: Deferred

Last updated: 🕥 12 Apr 2025, 10:46 UTC
Originally published on: 🕥 13 May 2015, 10:59 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 3621 days

CVSS Release: version 2

CVE-2015-1697 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2015-1697: Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Journal file, aka "Windows Journal Remote Code Execution Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-1675, CVE-2015-1695, CVE-2015-1696, CVE-2015-1698, and CVE-2015-1699.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2015-1697

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2015-1697 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2015-1697

Moderate complexity but no authentication required makes CVE-2015-1697 a potential risk.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2015-1697, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2015-1697, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: None
    CVE-2015-1697 does not compromise confidentiality.
  • Integrity: None
    CVE-2015-1697 does not impact data integrity.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2015-1697 does not affect system availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 18.977% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 96.36% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 3.6400000000000006% of others.

CVE-2015-1697 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-94

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Code Injection CAPEC-242 An adversary exploits a weakness in input validation on the target to inject new code into that which is currently executing. This differs from code inclusion in that code inclusion involves the addition or replacement of a reference to a code file, which is subsequently loaded by the target and used as part of the code of some application.
  • Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files CAPEC-35 An attack of this type exploits a system's trust in configuration and resource files. When the executable loads the resource (such as an image file or configuration file) the attacker has modified the file to either execute malicious code directly or manipulate the target process (e.g. application server) to execute based on the malicious configuration parameters. Since systems are increasingly interrelated mashing up resources from local and remote sources the possibility of this attack occurring is high.
  • Manipulating User-Controlled Variables CAPEC-77 This attack targets user controlled variables (DEBUG=1, PHP Globals, and So Forth). An adversary can override variables leveraging user-supplied, untrusted query variables directly used on the application server without any data sanitization. In extreme cases, the adversary can change variables controlling the business logic of the application. For instance, in languages like PHP, a number of poorly set default configurations may allow the user to override variables.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*

Protect Your Infrastructure against CVE-2015-1697: Combat Critical CVE Threats

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