CVE-2015-0938
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 · uneditedsearch.php on the Blue Coat Malware Analysis appliance with software before 4.2.4.20150312-RELEASE allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions, and list or read arbitrary documents, by providing matching keywords in conjunction with a crafted parameter.
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 search.php component in Blue Coat Malware Analysis appliance versions prior to 4.2.4.20150312-RELEASE contains an access control bypass vulnerability. Remote attackers can exploit this flaw by supplying specific keywords alongside a crafted parameter to circumvent intended security restrictions, enabling unauthorized listing and reading of arbitrary documents on the appliance.
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<= 4.2.3.20150129CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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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Identify Blue Coat Malware Analysis Appliance versionAccess the appliance administrative interface or check the system information page. The version is typically displayed on the main dashboard or in the About/System Info section. Alternatively, check the release notes or firmware metadata if you have CLI access.Affected if The installed version is 4.2.3.20150129 or any version prior to 4.2.4.20150312-RELEASE
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Confirm search.php endpoint is accessibleVerify the web interface is running and the search.php endpoint responds. This is typically found at /search.php on the appliance's web server. Use a web browser or curl command to request the endpoint.Affected if The search.php endpoint is reachable and responds without requiring authentication, indicating the vulnerable component is exposed
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Test for unauthorized document accessSubmit a search request using the specific keywords alongside the crafted parameter as described in the CVE. The vulnerability allows circumvention of access controls to list/read arbitrary documents.Affected if The search returns documents or listings that should be restricted based on user permissions, confirming the access control bypass is present
You are affected if the Blue Coat Malware Analysis Appliance version is 4.2.3.20150129 or earlier AND the search.php endpoint is accessible, allowing unauthorized document access.
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 the Blue Coat Malware Analysis appliance to version 4.2.4.20150312-RELEASE or later to apply the vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the search.php endpoint as a temporary compensating control.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-0938 — 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-2015-0938 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data