CVE-2015-1733 in Internet Explorer
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 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-2015-2389 and CVE-2015-2411.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2022
This vulnerability affects Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 10 and 11, representing a critical memory corruption flaw that enables remote code execution or denial of service conditions. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of memory operations within the browser's rendering engine, specifically when processing crafted web content. Attackers can exploit this weakness by hosting malicious websites that trigger memory corruption during normal browsing operations, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution on vulnerable systems.
The technical root cause involves memory management errors that occur when Internet Explorer processes malformed or specially crafted web elements. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-787, which covers out-of-bounds write operations. The flaw manifests when the browser's memory allocation and deallocation mechanisms fail to properly validate input data, allowing attackers to manipulate memory pointers or overwrite critical memory regions. This memory corruption can occur during JavaScript execution, HTML parsing, or CSS processing within the browser environment.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to enterprise environments where Internet Explorer remains in use, particularly in legacy systems or organizations with limited patch management capabilities. The attack vector requires only a user visiting a malicious website, making it particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns or compromised web portals. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple exploitation as it can lead to complete system compromise, data theft, or persistent backdoor installation. Security analysts classify this under ATT&CK technique T1203, which involves legitimate user privileges being used to execute malicious code, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreters.
Mitigation strategies should prioritize immediate patch deployment through Microsoft's regular security updates, as this vulnerability was addressed in the May 2015 security bulletin. Organizations lacking immediate patch capabilities should implement network-based restrictions such as disabling Active Scripting, implementing content filtering solutions, and using browser isolation technologies. Additional defensive measures include configuring Internet Explorer's security zones, enabling Enhanced Protected Mode, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date browser security patches and implementing layered defense strategies to protect against zero-day exploits targeting widely used software components.