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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2015-2546 Microsoft CVE debrief

CVE-2015-2546 is a Microsoft Win32k memory corruption vulnerability that CISA lists in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The supplied record marks it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns and directs organizations to apply updates per vendor instructions. The timeline supplied here dates the KEV entry to 2022-03-15, with a remediation due date of 2022-04-05.

Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Win32k
CVSS
HIGH 8.2
CISA KEV
Listed
Original CVE published
2022-03-15
Original CVE updated
2022-03-15
Advisory published
2022-03-15
Advisory updated
2022-03-15

Who should care

Vulnerability management, endpoint operations, and security teams responsible for Microsoft patching should treat this as a priority remediation item, especially where Win32k-related updates are in scope.

Technical summary

The provided source corpus identifies the issue as a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Win32k. CISA’s KEV metadata classifies it as known exploited, adds known ransomware campaign use, and points defenders to vendor-directed updates. No CVSS score, affected-version list, or exploit details were included in the supplied material.

Defensive priority

Urgent. CISA placed this issue in the KEV catalog and set a remediation due date of 2022-04-05, so it should be tracked and remediated ahead of routine patch queues.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Confirm whether Microsoft guidance or updates apply to your environment for Win32k-related remediation.
  • Prioritize deployment to the most exposed and business-critical systems first.
  • Validate completion against the CISA KEV due date and document any exceptions.
  • If immediate patching is not possible, apply temporary compensating controls and increase monitoring for suspicious activity.
  • Review the official CVE, NVD, and CISA KEV references for any updated vendor or coordination guidance.

Evidence notes

All substantive statements are drawn from the supplied CISA KEV source item and the official reference links. The source metadata explicitly states: vendorProject Microsoft, product Win32k, vulnerabilityName Microsoft Win32k Memory Corruption Vulnerability, dateAdded 2022-03-15, dueDate 2022-04-05, knownRansomwareCampaignUse Known, and requiredAction: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2015-2546 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-2546

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2015-2546 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-2546

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

  • CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

    Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Official CISA catalog of vulnerabilities known to be exploited in the wild.

Supplemental references

  • Source item URL

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

    cisa_kev

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.