Microsoft Security Bulletin MS15-032 - Critical

• 10/11/2017
• 14 minutes to read
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Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (3038314)

Published: April 14, 2015 | Updated: April 30, 2015

Version: 2.0

Executive Summary

This security update resolves vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer. The most severe of the vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted webpage using Internet Explorer. An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. Customers whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8), Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9), Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10), and Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) on affected Windows clients, and Moderate for Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8), Internet Explorer 9 (IE 9), Internet Explorer 10 (IE 10), and Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) on affected Windows servers. For more information, see the Affected Software section.

The security update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory and by helping to ensure that affected versions of Internet Explorer properly implement the ASLR security feature. For more information about the vulnerabilities, see the Vulnerability Information section.

For more information about this update, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 3038314.

Affected Software

The following software versions or editions are affected. Versions or editions that are not listed are either past their support life cycle or are not affected. To determine the support life cycle for your software version or edition, see Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Affected Software

Note Security update 3038314 also comprehensively addresses CVE-2014-6374 in MS14-080 for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Customers running these operating systems with Internet Explorer 11 installed should install security update 3038314 to remain protected.

Note Windows Technical Preview and Windows Server Technical Preview are affected. Customers running these operating systems are encouraged to apply the update, which is available via Windows Update.

Update FAQ

Does this update contain any additional security-related changes to functionality?
Yes. With the release of security update 3038314, SSL 3.0 is disabled by default in Internet Explorer 11. For more information, see Microsoft Security Advisory 3009008.

In addition to the changes that are listed for the vulnerabilities described in this bulletin, this update includes defense-in-depth updates to help improve security-related features.

Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers

The following severity ratings assume the potential maximum impact of the vulnerability. For information regarding the likelihood, within 30 days of this security bulletin's release, of the exploitability of the vulnerability in relation to its severity rating and security impact, please see the Exploitability Index in the April bulletin summary.

Where specified in the Severity Ratings and Impact table, Critical, Important, and Moderate values indicate severity ratings. For more information, see Security Bulletin Severity Rating System. Refer to the following key for the abbreviations used in the table to indicate maximum impact:

Multiple Memory Corruption Vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer

Remote code execution vulnerabilities exist when Internet Explorer improperly accesses objects in memory. These vulnerabilities could corrupt memory in such a way that an attacker could execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. The update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory.

An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit these vulnerabilities through Internet Explorer, and then convince a user to view the website. The attacker could also take advantage of compromised websites and websites that accept or host user-provided content or advertisements by adding specially crafted content that could exploit these vulnerabilities. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to view the attacker-controlled content. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to take action, typically by getting them to click a link in an instant messenger or email message that takes users to the attacker's website, or by getting them to open an attachment sent through email.

An attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited these vulnerabilities could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Systems where Internet Explorer is used frequently, such as workstations or terminal servers, are at the most risk from these vulnerabilities.

The update addresses the vulnerabilities by modifying the way that Internet Explorer handles objects in memory.

The following table contains links to the standard entry for each vulnerability in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures list: