CVE-2014-4151
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe av-centerd SOAP service in AlienVault OSSIM before 4.8.0 allows remote attackers to create arbitrary files and execute arbitrary code via a crafted set_file request.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe av-centerd SOAP service in AlienVault OSSIM before version 4.8.0 contains a vulnerability that allows remote unauthenticated attackers to send crafted set_file requests, enabling arbitrary file creation on the filesystem and subsequently remote code execution on the affected system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 4.7.0= 4.0= 4.3.3= 4.4= 4.5= 4.6= 4.6.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify AlienVault OSSIM installationCheck if the OSSIM system is present by looking for the av-centerd service or OSSIM-related packages using package manager commands (dpkg -l or rpm -qa) or by checking for /etc/ossim/ configuration directory.Affected if AlienVault OSSIM is installed on the system
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Check OSSIM versionDetermine the installed OSSIM version by running 'ossim-reconfig -v' or by checking the version file typically located in /etc/ossim/ossim_setup.conf or using 'dpkg -l | grep ossim'Affected if The installed version is 4.7.0 or lower, or matches any of these specific versions: 4.0, 4.3.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, or 4.6.1
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Verify av-centerd service statusCheck if the av-centerd service is running using 'service av-centerd status' or by examining the process list with 'ps aux | grep av-centerd'Affected if The av-centerd service is running and enabled
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Check av-centerd network exposureDetermine if the av-centerd SOAP service is listening on network interfaces by running 'netstat -tlnp | grep av-centerd' or 'ss -tlnp | grep av-centerd' to identify bound addresses and portsAffected if The service is bound to a non-loopback IP address or is accessible from network interfaces (0.0.0.0)
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade AlienVault OSSIM to version 4.8.0 or later to obtain the patched av-centerd SOAP service. If immediate patching is not possible, consider restricting network access to the av-centerd service via firewall rules.
OSSIM 4.8.0 or later
- 1. Back up all OSSIM configurations, databases, and critical data before proceeding with any upgrade
- 2. Download AlienVault OSSIM version 4.8.0 or later from the official AlienVault repository
- 3. Follow the official OSSIM upgrade documentation to upgrade from your current version to 4.8.0
- 4. After upgrade, verify the av-centerd SOAP service is running properly
- 5. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by testing that the set_file functionality no longer allows arbitrary file creation outside expected directories
- 6. Review system logs to ensure no unauthorized access occurred prior to the upgrade
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-4151 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-4151 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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