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Open Source Security Information ManagementApplication · Alienvault

CVE-2014-5158

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-08-21
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
The (1) av-centerd SOAP service and (2) backup command in the ossim-framework service in AlienVault OSSIM before 4.6.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via unspecified vectors.

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 confidence

This is a command injection vulnerability in AlienVault OSSIM (Open Source Security Information Management) affecting versions before 4.6.0. The vulnerability exists in two components: the av-centerd SOAP service and the backup command within the ossim-framework service. Attackers can exploit unspecified vectors to execute arbitrary commands remotely, achieving complete system compromise given the CVSS score of 10.

MitigationUpgrade AlienVault OSSIM to version 4.6.0 or later to obtain the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the av-centerd SOAP service and consider disabling the ossim-framework backup functionality until the upgrade can be performed.

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
Open Source Security Information ManagementApplication
Affected:<= 4.5= 1.0.4= 1.0.6= 2.1= 2.1.2= 2.1.5= 2.1.5-1= 2.1.5-2= 2.1.5-3= 3.1= 3.1.9= 3.1.10

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if AlienVault OSSIM is installed
    Check for OSSIM installation by looking for /etc/ossim/ossim_setup.conf or running 'dpkg -l | grep -i alienvault' on Debian-based systems, or 'rpm -qa | grep -i alienvault' on RHEL-based systems
    Affected if OSSIM is not found or the package is not present on the system
  2. Determine the installed OSSIM version
    Run 'alienvault-api --version' or check /etc/ossim/framework/ossim_setup.conf for the version directive, or use 'dpkg -l | grep ossim'
    Affected if The installed version is <= 4.5 or matches any of these affected versions: 1.0.4, 1.0.6, 2.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.5, 2.1.5-1, 2.1.5-2, 2.1.5-3, 3.1, 3.1.9, 3.1.10
  3. Check if av-centerd SOAP service is running and exposed
    Run 'ps aux | grep av-centerd' to verify the service process is active, and check if port 40007 (default av-centerd port) is listening with 'netstat -tlnp | grep 40007'
    Affected if The av-centerd service is running and accessible on the network (port 40007 is open)
  4. Check ossim-framework backup functionality
    Verify the ossim-framework package is installed via 'dpkg -l | grep ossim-framework' or 'rpm -qa | grep ossim-framework', then check if backup functionality is accessible via the web interface or CLI at /var/ossim/{backup, tmp} directories
    Affected if The ossim-framework package is installed and backup features are accessible

The system is affected if AlienVault OSSIM is installed with a version <= 4.5 or matching any specific affected version listed, and either the av-centerd SOAP service or ossim-framework backup functionality is exposed or active on the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade AlienVault OSSIM to version 4.6.0 or later to obtain the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the av-centerd SOAP service and consider disabling the ossim-framework backup functionality until the upgrade can be performed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

4.6.0

  1. Download AlienVault OSSIM version 4.6.0 or later from the official AlienVault repository
  2. Review the upgrade documentation for your current version at docs.alienvault.com
  3. Back up all critical data, configuration files, and the database before initiating the upgrade
  4. Stop all OSSIM services using the appropriate service management commands
  5. Run the official upgrade installer for version 4.6.0
  6. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version number
  7. Restart all OSSIM services
  8. Confirm the av-centerd SOAP service and backup functionality are operational
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes or database schema updates between your current version and 4.6.0

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Open Source Security Information Management Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,800
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-5158 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data