CVE-2015-2971
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in Seeds acmailer before 3.8.18 and 3.9.x before 3.9.12 Beta allows remote authenticated users to delete arbitrary files via a crafted string.
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 directory traversal vulnerability in Seeds acmailer versions before 3.8.18 and 3.9.12 Beta allows remote authenticated users to delete arbitrary files on the server by submitting crafted file path strings containing traversal sequences (such as ../../../). The vulnerability requires authentication but permits a privileged user to escape the intended directory constraints and delete files outside the application's web root.
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< 3.8.18= 3.9.0= 3.9.1= 3.9.2= 3.9.3= 3.9.4= 3.9.5= 3.9.6= 3.9.7= 3.9.8= 3.9.9= 3.9.10CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:P
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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Locate the acmailer installation and identify the versionCheck your web server for the acmailer application directory. Look for a version file, changelog, or the main acmailer script that displays or contains the version number. Common locations include the root web directory or a subdirectory named 'acmailer', 'mailer', or similar.Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.8.18, or is version 3.9.0 through 3.9.10 inclusive.
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Verify the file deletion module is accessibleDetermine if the file deletion or attachment management feature of acmailer is enabled and accessible within the application. Check the application's feature configuration or admin panel for mail attachment or file management modules.Affected if The file deletion feature is enabled and accessible to authenticated users.
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Confirm authentication is possibleVerify that user accounts exist with access to the acmailer application. The vulnerability requires an authenticated session to exploit the directory traversal in the file deletion function.Affected if There are active user accounts that can log into the acmailer application.
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Inspect file permission controlsReview the application's file deletion functionality to determine if path traversal sequences are being validated or filtered. Check whether the deletion feature restricts operations to an intended directory or allows arbitrary paths.Affected if The file deletion feature does not properly sanitize or validate path input, allowing traversal sequences to pass through unchecked.
You are affected if acmailer version is below 3.8.18 or between 3.9.0 and 3.9.10, the file deletion module is enabled, and user authentication is available for the application.
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 data3.8.18
Update acmailer to version 3.8.18 or 3.9.12 Beta or later to obtain the vendor patch. Additionally, restrict file deletion permissions for the web application user and implement input validation to block path traversal sequences.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2015-2971 — 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-2015-2971 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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