CVE-2015-3419
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 · uneditedvBulletin 5.x through 5.1.6 allows remote authenticated users to bypass authorization checks and inject private messages into conversations via vectors related to an input validation failure.
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 confidencevBulletin 5.x through 5.1.6 contains an input validation failure that allows authenticated users to bypass authorization checks and inject private messages into conversations they should not have access to. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of user input combined with insufficient permission checks on the private messaging functionality.
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= 5.0.0= 5.0.1= 5.0.2= 5.0.3= 5.0.4= 5.0.5= 5.1.0= 5.1.1= 5.1.2= 5.1.3= 5.1.4= 5.1.5CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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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Locate the vBulletin installationIdentify the web root directory where vBulletin is installed. Look for the core includes/config.php file or the admincp directory.Affected if vBulletin is not present on this system, this CVE does not apply.
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Determine the installed vBulletin versionAccess the admin control panel and navigate to Maintenance > System > Product Manager, or inspect the version.php file in the core/includes directory. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if The installed version is between 5.0.0 and 5.1.5 inclusive, including any point releases within these ranges.
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Verify the private messaging module is enabledIn the admin control panel, go to Settings > Options > Private Messaging. Confirm whether the 'Enable Private Messaging' setting is set to Yes, and check which user groups have permission to use private messaging.Affected if Private messaging is enabled and accessible to authenticated users; the vulnerability requires this feature to be active to exploit the authorization bypass.
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Inspect private message conversation permissionsAs a test authenticated user with limited privileges, attempt to access a private message conversation that belongs to another user or group. Observe whether the system permits access or properly denies it.Affected if Users can inject or view private messages in conversations they were not invited to or should not have access to.
You are affected if vBulletin version 5.0.0 through 5.1.5 is installed AND the private messaging feature is enabled for authenticated users.
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 vBulletin to version 5.1.7 or later, which addresses the input validation and authorization bypass issues. If immediate patching is not possible, review and restrict access to the private messaging functionality for untrusted user groups as a temporary measure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-3419 — 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-2015-3419 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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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.
- 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