Description of the security update for the remote code execution vulnerability in Visual Studio 2015 Update 3: July 10, 2018

Applies to: All Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 editions

Notice

• In November 2020, the content of this article was updated to clarify the affected products, prerequisites, restart requirements, and installation verification procedure.
• In November 2018, the package installer was updated to require Update 3 as a prerequsite.

Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in Visual Studio software if the software does not check the source markup of a file for an unbuilt project.

To learn more about the vulnerability, go to CVE-2018-8172.

How to obtain and install the update

Method 1: Microsoft Download

The following file is available for download:

Download the hotfix package now.

Method 2: Microsoft Update Catalog

To get the standalone package for this update, go to the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

More information

Prerequisites

To apply this security update, you must have both Visual Studio 2015 Update 3 and the subsequent Cumulative Servicing Release KB 3165756 installed. Typically, KB 3165756 is installed automatically when you install Visual Studio 2015 Update 3. However, in some cases, you have to install the two packages separately.

Restart requirement

We recommend that you close Visual Studio 2015 before you install this security update. Otherwise, you may have to restart the computer after you apply this security update if a file that is being updated is open or in use by Visual Studio.

File hash information

File name	SHA1 hash	SHA256 hash
vs14-kb4336999.exe	2DDA6839E9530AFF0497DDC90276B251A7D6FA55	9936F6352ED3C34851210743FBE10B859EE1D74DBF534236B0AF80FE8077D3B2

Installation verification

To verify that this security update is applied correctly, follow these steps:

1. Open the Visual Studio 2015 program folder.
2. Locate the Microsoft.VisualStudio.DesignTools.Utility file.
3. Verify that the file version is equal to or greater than 14.0.27530.

Information about support, protection, and security

• Protect yourself online: Windows Security support

• Learn how we guard against cyber threats: Microsoft Security

• Obtain localized support per your country: International Support

• Get more information about the Visual Studio support policy: Visual Studio Product Lifecycle and Servicing.