CVE-2015-1743 in Internet Explorer
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 through 11 allows remote attackers to gain privileges via a crafted web site, aka "Internet Explorer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-1748.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/20/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-1743 represents a critical elevation of privilege flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 7 through 11. This vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges on affected systems, effectively bypassing standard security boundaries that typically protect user sessions from malicious interference. The flaw operates through a sophisticated attack vector that leverages the browser's handling of specific web content to escalate privileges from standard user context to administrative level access.
The technical mechanism behind this vulnerability involves a memory corruption issue within Internet Explorer's rendering engine that occurs when processing malformed web content. Attackers can craft malicious websites that exploit this memory handling flaw to manipulate the browser's execution flow and subsequently elevate their privileges. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and memory management practices within the browser's core components, specifically affecting how Internet Explorer processes certain web elements that trigger privilege escalation conditions. This type of flaw falls under the CWE-119 category of "Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer," which directly relates to memory corruption vulnerabilities that can lead to privilege escalation scenarios.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risk to enterprise environments where Internet Explorer remains in use, particularly in legacy systems that have not been migrated to newer browser technologies. The impact extends beyond individual user sessions to potentially compromise entire network infrastructures, as successful exploitation can provide attackers with administrative access to target systems. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers can exploit it without requiring physical access to the target system, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with remote workers or those exposed to untrusted web content. Security analysts note that this vulnerability was particularly concerning because it affected multiple versions of Internet Explorer, creating a broad attack surface that required immediate remediation across various organizational environments.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigation strategies including deploying Microsoft security patches, implementing browser hardening measures, and restricting access to untrusted websites through network-level controls. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that reduce the attack surface available to potential adversaries. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous privilege escalation behaviors and establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle elevation of privilege attacks. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which covers "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" and highlights the critical need for organizations to maintain comprehensive security postures that address both known vulnerabilities and emerging threats in their browser environments.