CVE-2015-3246
libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service
02 Description
libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service
03 Exploitation and scoring
- Exploitation
- Exploited in the wild. Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-08-26. Federal remediation due 2026-09-09.
- SSVC decision
- ExploitationactiveCISA reports credible evidence of active exploitation.
- AutomatablenoAt least one step from reconnaissance to exploitation cannot be reliably automated.
- Technical ImpacttotalSuccessful exploitation gives total control of the vulnerable component.
- EPSS probability
- 8.50% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS percentile
- Equal to or higher than the score of 94.9% of scored records. A rank, not a probability.
- NVD base score
- 7.4 (CVSS v3.x), scored by the NVD independently of the CNA.
- NVD CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- NVD analysis status
- Analyzed. NVD last modified this record on 2026-10-02.
- Red Hat severity
- Important. Red Hat's rating for its own products, not a CVSS rating.
Exploit-prediction scores from FIRST. Independent scoring and analysis status from the NVD. Vendor severity from Red Hat. Exploitation assessment and catalog membership from CISA.
04 Metadata
- Published
- 2015-08-11 14:00Z11 YR AGO
- Last updated
- 2026-10-01 18:02Z27 DAYS AGO
- Reserved
- 2015-04-10
- Assigning CNA
- redhat
- Record state
- PUBLISHED
- Severity
- High (CVSS 7.4)
- CNA CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- Weaknesses
- Data version
- 5.2
- Document digest
- 491208a850b4484ecee206c3298ee48f71b8d56588a1d7fffa023757b82257f2
05 Affected products
06 References
- www.securityfocus.com76022http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76022
- lists.fedoraproject.orgFEDORA-2015-12301http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-July/162947.html
- www.exploit-db.com44633https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44633/
- access.redhat.comhttps://access.redhat.com/articles/1537873
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2015:1482http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1482.html
- lists.fedoraproject.orgFEDORA-2015-12064http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-August/163044.html
- lists.opensuse.orgopenSUSE-SU-2015:1332http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-08/msg00000.html
- www.qualys.comhttps://www.qualys.com/2015/07/23/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246.txt
- www.securitytracker.com1033040http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033040
- rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2015:1483http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1483.html
- blog.talosintelligence.comhttps://blog.talosintelligence.com/uat-10147-chinese-speaking-adversary-integrates-agentic-ai-into-post-compromise-operations/
- www.cisa.govhttps://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2015-3246
07 Fixed in
Debian 12
- libuser Fixed in 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 13
- libuser Fixed in 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Debian 14
- libuser Fixed in 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
Source: Debian Security Tracker, the Debian security team. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
- libuser No fix yet
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu 25.10
- libuser No fix yet
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS
- libuser Fixed in 1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2ubuntu2+esm1Available with Ubuntu Pro (Infra-only): https://ubuntu.com/pro
Source: Ubuntu, Canonical Ltd. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Received through OSV.dev. Reformatted by exploit.cc.
A release or ecosystem missing from this list has no record here. It may be unaffected or not covered by the source. Source notices and licences.