CVE-2015-0096

HIGHCVSS v2 · 9.39.3—
EchelonGraph scoreLOW confidence

This CVE was only ever scored under CVSS v2.0. NVD CVSS v2.0 base 9.3 — v2 rates that HIGH (v2 bands: LOW 0.0–3.9 / MEDIUM 4.0–6.9 / HIGH 7.0–10.0; v2 has no CRITICAL band). Vector AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C. CVSS v2 is an older, coarser metric than v3.1/v4.0 (no Scope, no User Interaction, no Attack Requirements), so it is not directly comparable to a v3 or v4 score. NVD has never re-scored this record under v3. EPSS predicts 71.1% exploitation probability in the next 30 days, which is reflected in EG Risk but does not lift the v2 base. Confidence: LOW.

Sources: epss, nvd_v2
Weaponized
9.3EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch this weekExploitation is likely or a public exploit exists.
  • High exploitation likelihood — EPSS 71%
  • Public exploit code is available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB (verified), epss top5pct, epss high, public exploit)
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 71%CVSS v2: 9.3Exploit: Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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."

CVSS v2.0 (legacy)
9.3HIGHNVD never assigned a CVSS v3 rating to this CVE
EG Score
9.3(low)
EG Risk
75(Track)
EG Risk 75/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity93% × 45%
Exploitation71% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
71%
EPSS %ILE
99%
KEV
Not listed

Published

March 11, 2015

Last Modified

May 6, 2026

References (6)

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 8× in last 7d / 23× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-07-26 13:52 UTCEG score recompute▲ 9.30
  2. 2026-07-24 14:13 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-07-23 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-07-23 01:15 UTCEG score recompute▼ 6.70
  5. 2026-07-23 00:18 UTCEG score recompute▲ 6.70
  6. 2026-07-22 21:57 UTCEG score recompute▼ 9.00
  7. 2026-07-22 14:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-07-20 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-07-19 14:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-07-19 14:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-07-16 16:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-07-15 16:54 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-07-15 01:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-07-11 08:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-07-09 19:05 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-07-08 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-07-04 06:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-07-01 15:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-06-28 14:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-06-28 04:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-06-25 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 42 more
  1. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-06-24 14:02 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-06-23 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-06-22 14:23 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-06-22 14:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-06-21 01:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-06-18 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-06-18 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-06-17 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-06-16 17:50 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-06-16 17:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-06-15 17:45 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-06-13 22:57 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-06-12 23:09 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-06-10 22:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-06-08 14:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-06-07 15:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-06-05 22:44 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-06-01 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-05-31 22:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-05-28 13:42 UTCEPSS rescore
  27. 2026-05-28 13:13 UTCEG score recompute
  28. 2026-05-28 13:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  29. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-05-27 13:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-05-24 16:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  32. 2026-05-23 15:10 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-05-22 21:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  35. 2026-05-21 22:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  36. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  37. 2026-05-20 22:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  38. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  39. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  40. 2026-05-20 11:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  41. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  42. 2026-05-18 21:30 UTCEPSS rescore

Publicly available exploits

(3 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (2 Metasploit modules) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Metasploitexploit/windows/fileformat/ms15_020_shortcut_icon_dllloader✓ verified
    First seen Mar 10, 2015

    Microsoft Windows Shell LNK Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/windows/smb/ms15_020_shortcut_icon_dllloader✓ verified
    First seen Mar 10, 2015

    Microsoft Windows Shell LNK Code Execution

    Open source ↗
  • Exploit-DBEDB-14403✓ verified
    First seen Jul 18, 2010

    Microsoft Windows - Automatic .LNK Shortcut File Code Execution

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(4)

What is CVE-2015-0096?
CVE-2015-0096 is a high vulnerability published on March 11, 2015. 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…
When was CVE-2015-0096 disclosed?
CVE-2015-0096 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on March 11, 2015, with the most recent update on May 6, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2015-0096 actively exploited?
CVE-2015-0096 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 71% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 0.7% of all scored CVEs.
How do I remediate CVE-2015-0096?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2015-0096, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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