CVE-2015-3954
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 · uneditedHospira 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 give unauthenticated users root privileges on Port 23/TELNET by default. An unauthorized user could issue commands to the pump. Hospira recommends that customers close 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 confidenceThe Hospira Plum A+, Plum A+3, and Symbiq infusion systems expose an unauthenticated TELNET service (Port 23) that grants root privileges by default. An attacker connecting to this port can execute arbitrary commands on the infusion pump, potentially altering medication delivery parameters.
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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Scan for open Port 23 on the infusion pumpUse a network scanner (nmap, netcat) to check if Port 23/TELNET is open and listening on the device IP addressAffected if Port 23 is open and accepting connections, indicating the TELNET service is exposed
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Identify the infusion pump modelCheck the device label, management console, or network inventory for the model name (Plum A+, Plum A+3, or Symbiq)Affected if The device is a Hospira Plum A+, Plum A+3, or Symbiq infusion pump
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Check the installed firmware versionAccess the device management interface or check device documentation to determine the firmware versionAffected if The firmware version is 13.4 or lower for Plum A+, 13.6 or lower for Plum A+3, or 3.13 or lower for Symbiq
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Attempt TELNET connection to verify root accessConnect to Port 23 via TELNET and observe whether root privileges are granted by default without authenticationAffected if TELNET connection succeeds and provides root-level access without credentials
The environment is affected if Port 23/TELNET is open on a Hospira Plum A+, Plum A+3, or Symbiq infusion pump running firmware at or below the affected version ranges, and root access is granted by default.
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 · scopedClose Port 23/TELNET on affected devices and implement network segmentation to isolate infusion pumps from untrusted networks, as recommended by Hospira.
- Identify all Hospira Plum A+ (firmware <=13.4), Plum A+3 (firmware <=13.6), and Symbiq (firmware <=3.13) infusion systems on the network
- Disable or block Port 23/TELNET on the affected devices to prevent unauthenticated root access
- If TELNET is not required for clinical operations, ensure it is disabled entirely on the infusion pump
- Implement network segmentation to isolate infusion pumps from untrusted networks
- Verify that Port 23/TELNET is no longer accessible on affected devices
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 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-2015-3954 — 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-2015-3954 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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