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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Microsoft Office Malformed EPS File Vulnerability

IdentifiersCVE-2015-2545CWE-20

CVE-2015-2545 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Microsoft Office’s handling of Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) image content, specifically described in the provided content as an EPS parsing flaw in the EPSIMP32.FLT module. Affected products include Microsoft Office 2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, and 2013 RT SP1. The vulnerability is triggered when Office processes a specially crafted EPS image embedded in a document, including DOC/DOCX and Web Archive/MHTML-based delivery formats observed in the wild. The supplied reporting states that exploitation used malformed PostScript/EPS content and was widely weaponized in targeted spear-phishing campaigns. Successful exploitation results in arbitrary code execution in the context of the user opening the malicious Office document.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on the victim system. In observed campaigns, the flaw was used for initial compromise via spear-phishing documents and then chained with additional malware or privilege-escalation exploits to install backdoors, loaders, and reconnaissance tooling. The practical impact includes full compromise of the current user context, malware deployment, persistence, data theft, and potential follow-on elevation to SYSTEM when paired with local privilege-escalation vulnerabilities.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Until patching is fully deployed, reduce exposure by blocking or filtering Office documents containing embedded EPS content, especially from email and web downloads; disable or restrict EPS rendering/processing in Office where possible; and enforce protected-view, attachment sandboxing, and mail gateway detonation for inbound Office documents. Given the strong association with spear-phishing, user-facing controls such as attachment isolation and macro/document execution restrictions can further reduce risk, although this vulnerability does not require macros. Network and endpoint monitoring should focus on Office spawning abnormal child processes or loading follow-on payloads after document open.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply Microsoft security update MS15-099, which patched CVE-2015-2545 on 2015-09-08. Upgrade affected Microsoft Office installations to patched builds and ensure unsupported or unpatched Office versions are retired. Because exploitation was delivered through malicious embedded EPS content in Office documents, organizations should also review Office/EPS handling settings and remove or disable legacy components where operationally feasible.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

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VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Microsoft CorporationOfficeapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence10

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware8

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures2

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity

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