Vulnerability record

CVE-2015-3246

Red Hat Libuser Race Condition Vulnerability

Severity: ElevatedExploitation: Exploitation confirmedCISA KEV
What should I do?

This vulnerability is in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: attackers are using it. If you run Libuser, fix it now.

CISA required action: Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

US federal civilian agencies must remediate by Sep 9, 2026.

Patch status

No official fix confirmed yet

Until a fix ships, follow the vendor's mitigations and CISA's required action, limit exposure of affected systems, and watch this record for a patch.

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 (inconsistent file state) by causing an error during the modification. NOTE: this issue can be combined with CVE-2015-3245 to gain privileges.

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database. Official vulnerability data, reproduced as published.

Affected products

Products affected by this vulnerability, with versions and the source of each entry
ProductVendorSource
LibuserRed HatKEV

Sources: KEV = CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Version details have not been published yet.

Intelligence timeline

Developments from the last 30 days, newest first.

No developments recorded for CVE-2015-3246 in the last 30 days.

1 earlier event is available with a subscription. See plans.

Coverage

We have not published a story about this vulnerability yet.

References

  • access.redhat.com https://access.redhat.com/articles/1537873
  • cisa.gov https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-prioritizing-security-updates-based-risk
  • cisa.gov https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/directives/bod-26-04-implementation-guidance-prioritizing-security-updates-ba…
  • nvd.nist.gov https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3246
  • lists.fedoraproject.org http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-August/163044.html
  • lists.fedoraproject.org http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-July/162947.html
  • lists.opensuse.org http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-08/msg00000.html
  • rhn.redhat.com http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1482.html
  • rhn.redhat.com http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1483.html
  • securityfocus.com http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/76022
  • securitytracker.com http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1033040
  • exploit-db.com https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44633/
  • qualys.com https://www.qualys.com/2015/07/23/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246.txt
  • blog.talosintelligence.com https://blog.talosintelligence.com/uat-10147-chinese-speaking-adversary-integrates-agentic-ai-into-post-compro…
  • cisa.gov https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2015-3246