CVE-2015-2389 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-2015-1733 and CVE-2015-2411.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2015-2389 represents a critical memory corruption flaw in Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 10 and 11 that enables remote code execution through malicious web content. This vulnerability operates at the core of browser memory management, where improper handling of certain data structures during web page rendering creates exploitable conditions that adversaries can leverage to gain unauthorized system access. The flaw specifically manifests when Internet Explorer processes crafted web content that triggers memory corruption during the parsing and rendering phases of webpage execution.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management practices within the browser's rendering engine. Attackers can construct malicious web pages containing specially crafted JavaScript or HTML elements that, when loaded in Internet Explorer, cause the browser to allocate or access memory in unintended ways. This memory corruption occurs during the execution of browser-specific functions that handle dynamic content rendering, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system crashes. The vulnerability's classification under CWE-125 indicates improper output handling where the browser fails to properly validate memory boundaries during content processing, while the ATT&CK technique T1203 covers the exploitation of such memory corruption vulnerabilities for privilege escalation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risk to enterprise environments where Internet Explorer remains in use, particularly in legacy systems that have not been migrated to modern browser architectures. The remote exploitation capability means that adversaries can deliver malicious payloads through standard web browsing activities without requiring user interaction beyond visiting a compromised website. The memory corruption aspect creates both persistent execution opportunities and potential denial of service conditions that can be leveraged for various attack vectors including data exfiltration, system compromise, or network reconnaissance. Organizations running affected versions of Internet Explorer face exposure to sophisticated attacks that can bypass standard security controls due to the low-level nature of the memory corruption exploit.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2015-2389 should prioritize immediate patch deployment through Microsoft's security updates, as the vulnerability requires no user interaction to exploit and has been actively targeted in the wild. Security administrators should implement browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary browser features, implementing strict content security policies, and deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious content. The ATT&CK framework's T1059 technique emphasizes the importance of monitoring for suspicious script execution patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing browser isolation technologies and network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation, while maintaining comprehensive monitoring for anomalous memory usage patterns that could indicate exploitation activity. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining instances of affected browser versions within the enterprise environment.