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CloudstackApplication · Apache

CVE-2015-3252

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-02-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.5.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Apache CloudStack before 4.5.2 does not properly preserve VNC passwords when migrating KVM virtual machines, which allows remote attackers to gain access by connecting to the VNC server.

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 confidence

Apache CloudStack versions before 4.5.2 fail to properly preserve VNC passwords during KVM virtual machine migration. When a KVM VM is migrated, the VNC authentication credentials are not correctly maintained, leaving the VNC server accessible without proper authentication, allowing remote attackers to connect directly.

MitigationUpgrade Apache CloudStack to version 4.5.2 or later. As an interim measure, restrict network access to VNC ports and monitor for unauthorized VNC connections.

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
CloudstackApplication
Affected:<= 4.5.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Apache CloudStack version
    Check the CloudStack management server version by looking at the package version or the management server UI footer. Common paths: rpm -q cloudstack-management or check /usr/share/cloudstack-management/webapps/client/WEB-INF/web.xml for version info.
    Affected if The installed version is 4.5.1 or earlier
  2. Confirm KVM hypervisor is in use
    In the CloudStack UI, navigate to Infrastructure > Hypervisors or query the cloud.hypervisors table in the CloudStack database. Look for KVM listed as an active hypervisor.
    Affected if KVM is configured as a hypervisor in the CloudStack environment
  3. Check for existing VM migrations
    Review CloudStack migration logs or the migrate_virtual_machine event history in the CloudStack database (cloud.vm_instance table where state changed). Look for vm_migrate events.
    Affected if Any KVM virtual machines have been migrated in the environment
  4. Verify VNC is enabled for KVM VMs
    Check the CloudStack global settings for 'vnc.password' configuration or inspect individual VM instance settings to confirm VNC access is enabled for KVM-based virtual machines.
    Affected if VNC console access is enabled for KVM virtual machines

A user is affected if they run Apache CloudStack version 4.5.1 or earlier, use KVM as the hypervisor, and have migrated KVM virtual machines with VNC console access enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 4.5.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Apache CloudStack to version 4.5.2 or later. As an interim measure, restrict network access to VNC ports and monitor for unauthorized VNC connections.

Recommended fix High confidence

CloudStack 4.5.2 or later (recommended: latest stable 4.x release)

  1. 1. Back up the current CloudStack database and configuration files.
  2. 2. Stop all CloudStack management services to prevent any active operations during upgrade.
  3. 3. Upgrade Apache CloudStack to version 4.5.2 or later (preferably the latest stable 4.x release).
  4. 4. Run database migration scripts if provided with the upgrade package.
  5. 5. Restart CloudStack management services.
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade by logging into the CloudStack admin console.
  7. 7. Test KVM virtual machine migration to confirm VNC password functionality works correctly after migration.
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply - test in non-production first, ensure database backup, review release notes for any migration-specific steps

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cloudstack Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3252 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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