CVE-2015-0786
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in the logging functionality in the Preboot Policy service in Novell ZENworks Configuration Management (ZCM) allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code 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 · moderate confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow exists in the logging functionality of the Preboot Policy service in Novell ZENworks Configuration Management. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to overflow a stack buffer in the logging component, potentially overwriting return addresses and executing arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected service.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 ZENworks Configuration Management is installedCheck for ZENworks installation by looking for the product directory (typically C:\Novell\ZENworks or /opt/novell/zenworks) or check Windows services for 'ZENworks' named servicesAffected if ZENworks Configuration Management is installed on the system
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Confirm the Preboot Policy service is runningOn Windows, check Services for 'Novell ZENworks Preboot Policy Service' or equivalent; on Linux, check for the preboot policy daemon processAffected if The Preboot Policy service is running or enabled on the host
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Verify logging is enabled for the Preboot Policy serviceInspect the ZENworks configuration files (typically in the ZENworks installation directory under config or etc) for logging settings related to the Preboot Policy serviceAffected if Logging is enabled for the Preboot Policy component (this is typically enabled by default)
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Check the installed ZENworks versionRun 'zman --version' from the ZENworks bin directory, or check the ZENworks Control Center (ZCC) about page, or look in the installation directory for version informationAffected if Any version of Novell ZENworks Configuration Management is running (the vulnerability affects all versions)
If ZENworks Configuration Management is installed with the Preboot Policy service running and logging enabled, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch for CVE-2015-0786 or upgrade to a supported version of ZENworks Configuration Management. If patching is not immediately possible, restrict network access to the Preboot Policy service and disable the logging component if feasible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-0786 — 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-2015-0786 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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