CVE-2015-0026 in Internet Explorer
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-0017, CVE-2015-0020, CVE-2015-0022, CVE-2015-0030, CVE-2015-0031, CVE-2015-0036, and CVE-2015-0041.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/09/2022
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11 contained a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote code execution through maliciously crafted web content. This vulnerability arose from improper handling of memory allocation and deallocation during web page rendering processes, creating exploitable conditions that attackers could leverage to inject and execute arbitrary code on targeted systems. The flaw specifically manifested when Internet Explorer processed certain malformed or specially constructed web elements, leading to heap corruption that could be exploited to gain full system control.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involved memory management errors within Internet Explorer's rendering engine, particularly in how the browser handled dynamic memory allocation for web content objects. Attackers could craft web pages containing malicious JavaScript or HTML elements that would trigger buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions when the browser attempted to render these elements. This type of memory corruption vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. The vulnerability exploited the browser's failure to properly validate memory boundaries during object manipulation, creating opportunities for attackers to overwrite critical memory locations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability was severe and far-reaching, as it affected virtually all supported versions of Internet Explorer from version 6 through 11. Organizations running these browser versions faced significant risk of compromise, as the vulnerability could be exploited through simple web browsing activities without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond visiting a malicious website. The memory corruption could lead to system crashes, browser instability, or more critically, full system compromise where attackers could execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-in user. This made the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users might inadvertently browse to compromised websites or receive malicious links through phishing attacks.
Security professionals and organizations needed to implement immediate mitigations including applying Microsoft security updates, deploying browser isolation techniques, and implementing network-based protections such as web application firewalls. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date browser security patches and demonstrated the risks associated with legacy browser support. Organizations should have considered implementing additional security controls such as sandboxing mechanisms, enhanced browser hardening configurations, and user education programs to reduce exposure. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under technique T1203, which covers exploitation for privilege escalation, and T1059, which covers command and scripting interpreters, as attackers could leverage the vulnerability to execute malicious code and establish persistent access to compromised systems.