Microsoft Office EPS Image Parsing Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2015-2545) Technical Analysis and Mitigation Guide
Executive & SecOps Summary
SECOPS ASSESSMENTMicrosoft Office 2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, and 2013 RT SP1
Remote attackers can execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the active user and compromise the host system by tricking a user into opening a document containing a malformed EPS image
Apply the official MS15-099 security update immediately, or disable the EPS graphics filter via registry modifications to prevent exploitation
Affected Products & Version Scope
Remediation & Live Workaround Commands
PATCH & WORKAROUND1. Official Patch & Version Upgrade Commands
Deploy the official MS15-099 security update provided by Microsoft. For enterprise environments, you can verify and force the installation of the update using the following PowerShell script:
# Query and trigger Windows Update for MS15-099 related patches
$UpdateSession = New-Object -ComObject Microsoft.Update.Session
$UpdateSearcher = $UpdateSession.CreateUpdateSearcher()
$SearchResult = $UpdateSearcher.Search('IsInstalled=0 and Type=\'Software\' and Title like \'%MS15-099%\'')
if ($SearchResult.Updates.Count -gt 0) {
Write-Output 'Missing MS15-099 security updates detected. Please run Windows Update immediately.'
} else {
Write-Output 'System is patched or not applicable for MS15-099.'
}2. Temporary Workaround & Hardening Configuration
If patching cannot be performed immediately, disable the EPS filter in the Windows Registry to mitigate the attack vector.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Disable EPS Filter execution in Office 2013
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Common\Security\AllowLists\GraphicsFilters]
'EPSIMP32.FLT'=dword:00000000
; Disable EPS Filter execution in 32-bit Office on 64-bit OS (Wow64)
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Common\Security\AllowLists\GraphicsFilters]
'EPSIMP32.FLT'=dword:000000003. Log Audit & IoC Verification Commands
Run the following PowerShell script to audit the presence of the vulnerable EPS filter file and verify if the registry mitigation is active.
# Check Registry Mitigation Status
$RegPath = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Common\Security\AllowLists\GraphicsFilters'
if (Test-Path $RegPath) {
$Value = Get-ItemPropertyValue -Path $RegPath -Name 'EPSIMP32.FLT' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($Value -eq 0) {
Write-Host 'Mitigation Status: EPS Filter is successfully disabled in Registry.' -ForegroundColor Green
} else {
Write-Host 'Mitigation Status: EPS Filter is NOT disabled.' -ForegroundColor Red
}
} else {
Write-Host 'Mitigation Status: Registry path does not exist. EPS Filter might be enabled.' -ForegroundColor Yellow
}Block Kernel Privilege Escalation & Ransomware Payloads Before You Can Reboot
Protect unpatched Windows, Linux, and macOS workloads against in-memory exploitation and lateral movement with autonomous EDR.
Technical Root Cause & Exploitation Mechanics
1. Vulnerability Overview & Root Cause
This vulnerability (CVE-2015-2545) is a critical Use-After-Free (UAF) memory corruption flaw within the Microsoft Office EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) image filter (EPSIMP32.FLT). The root cause lies in the way the EPS interpreter parses PostScript language objects. When handling specific nested PostScript objects or arrays, the interpreter fails to properly manage object lifecycles, allowing a pointer to be reused after the memory it references has been freed.
2. Exploitation Mechanics & Attack Scenario
An attacker exploits this vulnerability by embedding a specially crafted EPS image containing malicious PostScript code into an Office document (such as .docx or .rtf). When a user opens the document, Office automatically invokes the EPS filter to render the image. The malicious PostScript code leverages operators like 'forall' to free an active object and immediately reclaim that memory space with a controlled fake object. This allows the attacker to hijack the execution flow, bypass advanced exploit mitigations such as ASLR, DEP, and EMET, and execute arbitrary shellcode.
3. Infrastructure & Business Impact
As a highly reliable exploit listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, CVE-2015-2545 has been heavily utilized by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups in spear-phishing campaigns. Successful exploitation grants the attacker the same privileges as the logged-in user. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive corporate data, lateral movement within the enterprise network, and deployment of secondary payloads such as ransomware or backdoors.
Official Vendor Advisories & References
Microsoft Office 2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, and 2013 RT SP1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted EPS image, aka "Microsoft Office Malformed EPS File Vulnerability."
Frequently Asked SecOps Questions (CVE-2015-2545)
FAQQ1. How critical is CVE-2015-2545 and is it actively exploited in the wild?
CVE-2015-2545 is rated CVSS 7.8 (HIGH) with a 30-day EPSS exploitation probability of 85.9%. It is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, requiring immediate emergency remediation.
Q2. Which vendors and products are affected by CVE-2015-2545?
Primary impacted vendors include microsoft across office, word, excel, powerpoint. Scope summary: Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 3, Office 2010 Service Pack 2, Office 2013 Service Pack 1, Office 2013 RT Service Pack 1
Q3. What temporary mitigations or workarounds exist for CVE-2015-2545 before patching?
[Mitigation] Apply the official MS15-099 security update immediately, or disable the EPS graphics filter via registry modifications to prevent exploitation Follow the CLI remediation commands and interactive SecOps checklist on this page to restrict exposure prior to your maintenance window.
Generate an Internal Engineering Notice or CISO Report for CVE-2015-2545
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