# CVE-2015-2503: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass Office sandbox protections and escalate privileges by tricking users into visiting a crafted website via Internet Explorer.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Nov 2015
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v53c-88vh-q6gw

## What is CVE-2015-2503?

CVE-2015-2503 is a critical vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 11 Nov 2015. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Microsoft Access 2007 SP3, Excel 2007 SP3, InfoPath 2007 SP3, OneNote 2007 SP3, PowerPoint 2007 SP3, Project 2007 SP3, Publisher 2007 SP3, Visio 2007 SP3, Word 2007 SP3, Office 2007 IME (Japanese) SP3, Access 2010 SP2, Excel 2010 SP2, InfoPath 2010 SP2, OneNote 2010 SP2, PowerPoint 2010 SP2, Project 2010 SP2, Publisher 2010 SP2, Visio 2010 SP2, Word 2010 SP2, Pinyin IME 2010, Access 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 SP1, InfoPath 2013 SP1, OneNote 2013 SP1, PowerPoint 2013 SP1, Project 2013 SP1, Publisher 2013 SP1, Visio 2013 SP1, Word 2013 SP1, Excel 2013 RT SP1, OneNote 2013 RT SP1, PowerPoint 2013 RT SP1, Word 2013 RT SP1, Access 2016, Excel 2016, OneNote 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Project 2016, Publisher 2016, Visio 2016, Word 2016, Skype for Business 2016, and Lync 2013 SP1 allow remote attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism and gain privileges via a crafted web site that is accessed with Internet Explorer, as demonstrated by a transition from Low Integrity to Medium Integrity, aka "Microsoft Office Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-2503?

It affects 14 products.


Products: Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Infopath, Microsoft Lync, Microsoft Office 2007 Ime, Microsoft Onenote, Microsoft Pinyin Ime, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Project Server, Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Skype for Business, Microsoft Visio, Microsoft Word.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-2503?

No fix has been published for CVE-2015-2503 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2015-2503 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-2503 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Excel

- [CVE-2007-0671](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0671/): Microsoft Office Excel Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2000-0788](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2000-0788/): Code injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2013-3155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3155/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2013-3156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3156/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2013-3157](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3157/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-2503 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-2503 is a critical vulnerability in Microsoft Excel, published on 11 Nov 2015. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-2503 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Excel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2503/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2503/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-2503
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-2503
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-2503

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2503/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.