CVE-2015-3953
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 · uneditedHard-coded accounts may be used to access Hospira Plum A+ Infusion System version 13.4 and prior, Plum A+3 Infusion System version 13.6 and prior, and Symbiq Infusion System, version 3.13 and prior. Hospira recommends that customers close Port 20/FTP and Port 23/TELNET on the affected devices. Hospira has also released the Plum 360 Infusion System which is not vulnerable to this issue.
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 confidenceHard-coded authentication credentials exist in Hospira Plum A+, Plum A+3, and Symbiq infusion pump systems, allowing unauthorized access via FTP (port 20) and Telnet (port 23). The credentials are embedded in the firmware and cannot be changed by users.
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<= 13.4<= 13.6<= 3.13CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the infusion pump modelLocate the device label or access the device's system information to confirm the model is a Hospira/Pfizer Plum A+, Plum A+3, or Symbiq Infusion SystemAffected if The device is one of these three models
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Check the installed firmware versionAccess the device's administrative interface or firmware settings to determine the firmware version numberAffected if Firmware version is 13.4 or lower for Plum A+, 13.6 or lower for Plum A+3, or 13.3 or lower for Symbiq
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Verify if FTP service is exposedScan the network for open port 20 or conduct a port scan against the device to check if FTP is listeningAffected if Port 20/FTP is open and accessible on the device
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Verify if Telnet service is exposedScan the network for open port 23 or conduct a port scan against the device to check if Telnet is listeningAffected if Port 23/Telnet is open and accessible on the device
You are affected if you have a Plum A+, Plum A+3, or Symbiq infusion pump running the specified firmware versions AND FTP (port 20) or Telnet (port 23) services are accessible on your network.
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 · scopedBlock or close Port 20/FTP and Port 23/TELNET at the network perimeter to prevent external access; consider migrating to the Plum 360 Infusion System which is not affected.
- Close Port 20/FTP on the affected Plum A+, Plum A+3, and Symbiq Infusion Systems to prevent unauthorized access via the hard-coded accounts.
- Close Port 23/TELNET on the affected systems to block remote access using the hard-coded credentials.
- Verify that the port closures are properly applied and that remote access is no longer possible on these ports.
- Consider migrating to the Plum 360 Infusion System, which Hospira states is not vulnerable to this issue.
- Implement network segmentation to isolate infusion devices from untrusted networks.
- Change any default credentials if identified through a thorough security assessment.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-3953 — 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-2015-3953 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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