CVE-2015-3799
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 Apple ID OD plug-in in Apple OS X before 10.10.5 allows attackers to change arbitrary user passwords via a crafted app.
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 confidenceThe Apple ID Open Directory (OD) plug-in in OS X versions before 10.10.5 contains a vulnerability that allows a crafted malicious application to bypass authentication controls and change passwords for arbitrary user accounts. This represents a severe privilege escalation and authentication bypass issue in the Open Directory integration component.
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<= 10.10.4CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Mac OS X versionRun 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal or click Apple menu > About This MacAffected if Version is 10.10.4 or earlier (versions below 10.10.5 are affected)
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Verify Open Directory is configuredCheck System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Options > Network Account Server, or run 'dsconfigad -show' if bound to Active DirectoryAffected if The Mac is joined to a network directory server (Open Directory or Active Directory) using the Apple ID OD plug-in for authentication
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Confirm Apple ID OD plug-in is presentExamine /Library/Security/SecurityAgentPlugins/ for a plugin bundle named 'AppleIDAuthAgent.plugin' or similar Apple ID authentication pluginAffected if The Apple ID authentication plugin exists in the SecurityAgentPlugins directory and is active
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Review directory services logs for password changesRun 'sudo log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.apple.opendirectory"' --last 24h' or inspect /var/log/ directory for odagent logsAffected if Unexpected or unauthorized password change events appear in Open Directory logs for accounts other than the currently logged-in user
A system is affected if it runs Mac OS X 10.10.4 or earlier and uses Open Directory or network account server integration with the vulnerable Apple ID OD plug-in enabled.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade Mac OS X to version 10.10.5 or later, which patches the vulnerable Apple ID OD plug-in. As a temporary measure, restrict application execution permissions and monitor for unauthorized password reset attempts in directory services logs.
OS X 10.10.5
- Backup important data before proceeding with any system update
- Check current OS X version by clicking Apple menu > About This Mac
- Update to OS X 10.10.5 via Apple Software Update, or download OS X 10.10.5 directly from Apple's support website
- After updating, verify the Apple ID OD plug-in has been patched by confirming the system is running version 10.10.5
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2015-3799 — 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-2015-3799 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