CVE-2015-6145 in Internet Explorer
Summary
by MITRE
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8 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-2015-6146.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/28/2022
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 and 8 suffered from a critical memory corruption vulnerability that enabled remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service conditions through maliciously crafted web content. This vulnerability specifically affected the browser's handling of memory allocation and management during web page rendering processes, creating a pathway for attackers to inject and execute malicious code within the victim's system context. The flaw existed in the browser's JavaScript engine and memory management subsystem, where improper bounds checking and memory deallocation routines failed to properly validate input data from web pages.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions that can lead to memory corruption and arbitrary code execution. Attackers could craft web pages containing specially formatted data structures that would trigger buffer overflows or use-after-free conditions within Internet Explorer's memory management. When the browser attempted to process these malformed inputs, the corrupted memory segments would allow attackers to redirect execution flow and inject malicious payloads. The vulnerability was particularly dangerous because it could be exploited through standard web browsing activities without requiring any special privileges or user interaction beyond visiting a compromised website.
The operational impact of CVE-2015-6145 was severe for organizations relying on older Internet Explorer versions, as it provided attackers with a reliable method to gain remote code execution capabilities on targeted systems. This vulnerability could be leveraged in drive-by download attacks where users visiting malicious websites would automatically have their systems compromised without any visible user interaction. The memory corruption aspect meant that exploitation could also result in browser crashes and denial of service conditions, disrupting legitimate business operations and potentially providing attackers with additional attack vectors through system instability. Organizations using these vulnerable browsers faced significant risk of data breaches, system compromise, and potential lateral movement within their networks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate patching of affected Internet Explorer versions, as Microsoft released security updates addressing the memory corruption issues in their browser. Organizations should have implemented browser hardening measures including disabling unnecessary browser features, implementing strict content filtering, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block malicious content. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1203, which describes exploitation for privilege escalation through memory corruption, making it a critical target for defensive measures. Additionally, organizations should have enforced browser migration to supported versions and implemented network segmentation to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlighted the importance of maintaining up-to-date software and implementing robust security practices to prevent exploitation of known memory corruption flaws.