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Lifecare Pcainfusion FirmwareOperating system · Hospira

CVE-2015-3459

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-04-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0 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
The communication module on the Hospira LifeCare PCA Infusion System before 7.0 does not require authentication for root TELNET sessions, which allows remote attackers to modify the pump configuration via unspecified commands.

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

The Hospira LifeCare PCA Infusion System communication module allows unauthenticated root TELNET access, enabling remote attackers to connect without credentials and modify infusion pump configuration settings.

MitigationUpgrade to version 7.0 or later; if upgrade is not feasible, disable TELNET access at the network perimeter and implement network segmentation to isolate medical devices from untrusted networks.

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
Lifecare Pcainfusion FirmwareOperating system
Affected:<= 5.0
Lifecare Pca3Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Lifecare Pca5Hardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

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
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 Hospira LifeCare PCA infusion devices on the network
    Scan the network for devices responding to TCP port 23 (TELNET) or identify medical devices with MAC vendor prefix matching Hospira/Pfizer, and verify the device is a Hospira LifeCare PCA infusion pump by checking its service banner or HTTP management interface if available
    Affected if Any Hospira LifeCare PCA infusion pump with TELNET port 23 accessible from an untrusted network
  2. Determine the firmware version
    Access the device via its management interface (HTTP/HTTPS) or use TELNET to connect and check the firmware version displayed at login or in system information screens
    Affected if Firmware version is 5.0 or lower, or the device is a Pca3 or Pca5 model (all versions) with TELNET enabled
  3. Verify if unauthenticated root access is possible
    Connect to the device via TELNET on port 23 without providing any credentials. Observe if the connection grants immediate root shell access without username or password prompt
    Affected if TELNET connection grants root access without any authentication credentials
  4. Check network accessibility of TELNET service
    From external network segments, attempt a TCP connect scan on port 23 toward the infusion pump device, or review firewall rules and network ACLs to determine if port 23 is permitted from untrusted zones
    Affected if Port 23/TELNET is reachable from network segments outside the medical device VLAN or from untrusted networks
  5. Confirm device model and product line
    If accessible, query the device via TELNET or its web interface for the exact model designation (Pca3, Pca5, or Pcainfusion) and serial number
    Affected if Device model is Pca3 or Pca5 (all versions) or Pcainfusion with firmware <= 5.0

The environment is affected if a Hospira LifeCare PCA infusion pump has TELNET port 23 accessible from an untrusted network and either has firmware <= 5.0 or is a Pca3/Pca5 model, particularly if unauthenticated root access is confirmed.

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 5.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to version 7.0 or later; if upgrade is not feasible, disable TELNET access at the network perimeter and implement network segmentation to isolate medical devices from untrusted networks.

Recommended fix High confidence

LifeCare PCA Infusion System firmware 7.0 or later

  1. Identify the specific LifeCare PCA model (Pcainfusion, Pca3, or Pca5) and current firmware version
  2. Contact Hospira (now ICU Medical/Symmetry) customer support to obtain firmware version 7.0 or later
  3. Follow the vendor's documented firmware upgrade procedure, ensuring compliance with medical device validation requirements
  4. After upgrading, verify that TELNET access now requires authentication by attempting an unauthenticated connection
  5. Implement network segmentation to isolate infusion pumps from untrusted networks as a defense-in-depth measure
  6. Document the upgrade in the device's maintenance log per facility procedures
Caveat Medical device firmware upgrades require validation testing to ensure continued safe operation; coordinate with clinical engineering and follow FDA-compliant change management procedures

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

Fix this in Lifecare Pcainfusion Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,960
Get the upgrade done

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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-2015-3459 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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