Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system · Redhat
CVE-2015-3149
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 Hotspot component in OpenJDK8 as packaged in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 and 7 allows local users to write to arbitrary files via a symlink attack.
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 confidenceThe Hotspot component in OpenJDK8 as shipped in RHEL 6 and 7 contains a symlink attack vulnerability that allows local users to write to arbitrary files on the system. This is a local privilege escalation issue where an attacker can manipulate symbolic links to cause the Hotspot component to write to files outside its intended scope.
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
Enterprise Linux DesktopOperating system
= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Hpc NodeOperating system
= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Hpc Node EusOperating system
= 7.1
Enterprise Linux ServerOperating system
= 6.0= 7.0
Enterprise Linux Server AusOperating system
= 6.6
Enterprise Linux Server EusOperating system
= 6.6z= 7.1
Enterprise Linux WorkstationOperating system
= 6.0= 7.0CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 installed OpenJDK versionRun 'java -version' or 'rpm -qa | grep openjdk' to determine the exact OpenJDK version installedAffected if OpenJDK version is 8.x (any update) on RHEL 6 or 7
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Confirm Hotspot JVM is in useRun 'java -version' and look for 'HotSpot' or 'OpenJDK' in the output; the JVM implementation is the affected componentAffected if The JVM implementation shown is HotSpot (standard in OpenJDK)
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Verify RHEL versionRun 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or 'rpm -q redhat-release' to confirm the OS versionAffected if The system runs RHEL 6.0-6.6, 6.6.z, 7.0-7.1, or derivatives like Server Aus/Eus/Hpc Node editions within these ranges
If OpenJDK 8 is installed on an affected RHEL 6.x or 7.x system using the HotSpot JVM, the environment is vulnerable to local privilege escalation via symlink attack in the Hotspot component.
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 latest Red Hat security updates for OpenJDK8 to address the symlink vulnerability in the Hotspot component. Verify that Java applications function correctly after the update.
Fix this in Enterprise Linux Desktop
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-3149 — 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-2015-3149 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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