CVE-2015-0839
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 hp-plugin utility in HP Linux Imaging and Printing (HPLIP) makes it easier for man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code by leveraging use of a short GPG key id from a keyserver to verify print plugin downloads.
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 confidenceThe hp-plugin utility in HPLIP uses short GPG key IDs (typically 8 characters/32 bits) retrieved from a keyserver to verify print plugin downloads. Short key IDs are vulnerable to collision attacks where an attacker can generate a different key with the same short ID, allowing a man-in-the-middle attacker to inject malicious plugins and achieve arbitrary code execution on the victim's 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<= 3.17.7CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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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Check if HPLIP is installedRun 'which hp-plugin' or check your package manager for hplip package installation statusAffected if hp-plugin utility is present on the system
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Determine installed HPLIP versionRun 'hp-probe -V' or use your package manager to query the installed hplip package versionAffected if The version is 3.17.7 or earlier (versions <= 3.17.7)
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Verify hp-plugin utility is accessibleConfirm the hp-plugin binary exists in your PATH by running 'hp-plugin --help' or 'which hp-plugin'Affected if The hp-plugin utility is executable and available
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Check for automatic plugin download configurationInspect HPLIP configuration files in /etc/hp/ or ~/.hplip/ for plugin auto-download settings, or review hp-plugin usage patternsAffected if Automatic plugin downloads are enabled or hp-plugin is used to fetch plugins from keyserver
A system is affected if HPLIP version 3.17.7 or earlier is installed AND the hp-plugin utility is used to automatically retrieve print plugins from a keyserver using short GPG key IDs.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of HPLIP that implements full fingerprint verification or disable automatic plugin downloads until patches are applied. Alternatively, manually verify plugin signatures using full GPG fingerprints before installation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-0839 — 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-2015-0839 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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