dbcve.org
Content Security Management Virtual ApplianceApplication · Cisco

CVE-2015-4216

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-06-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 remote-support feature on Cisco Web Security Virtual Appliance (WSAv), Email Security Virtual Appliance (ESAv), and Security Management Virtual Appliance (SMAv) devices before 2015-06-25 uses the same default SSH root authorized key across different customers' installations, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass authentication by leveraging knowledge of a private key from another installation, aka Bug IDs CSCuu95988, CSCuu95994, and CSCuu96630.

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

Cisco WSAv, ESAv, and SMAv virtual appliances contain a shared SSH authorized key for root remote-support access across all customer installations. An attacker who obtains the private key from any single deployment can authenticate as root to any other affected device, enabling unauthorized administrative access.

MitigationCustomers should apply the vendor patch released after 2015-06-25 and regenerate SSH keys to replace the compromised default credentials.

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
Content Security Management Virtual ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 8.4.0.0150= 9.0.0.087
Email Security Virtual ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 8.0.0= 8.5.6= 8.5.7= 9.0.0
Web Security Virtual ApplianceApplication
Affected:= 7.7.5= 8.0.5= 8.5.0= 8.5.1= 8.6.0= 8.7.0

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
Partial
Integrity
None
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify device product and version
    Run 'version' or 'show version' command on the Cisco ESA, WSA, or SMA CLI to determine the installed product type and exact version number
    Affected if The product is ESAv, WSAv, or SMAv and the version matches one of these: SMAv 8.4.0.0150 or 9.0.0.087; ESAv 8.0.0, 8.5.6, 8.5.7, or 9.0.0; WSAv 7.7.5, 8.0.5, 8.5.0, 8.5.1, 8.6.0, or 8.7.0
  2. Check for root SSH authorized keys
    On the appliance CLI or via SSH, examine /root/.ssh/authorized_keys file for entries labeled for remote-support or administrative access
    Affected if The authorized_keys file contains any SSH public key entries used for Cisco remote support that are identical across multiple installations
  3. Verify if default SSH key is in use
    Compare the SSH public key in /root/.ssh/authorized_keys against known default/shared key fingerprints or examine the key to determine if it is the factory default rather than a unique per-device key
    Affected if The SSH key in the authorized_keys file is the same default key present on other Cisco virtual appliances rather than a uniquely generated per-device key
  4. Confirm root login capability exists
    Check SSH service configuration to verify that root login is permitted and examine which keys in authorized_keys grant root access
    Affected if Root SSH login is enabled and the authorized_keys file includes the shared remote-support key

A user is affected if their Cisco ESAv, WSAv, or SMAv version matches the affected versions listed and the device contains the default shared SSH authorized key for root remote-support access rather than a unique per-device key.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Customers should apply the vendor patch released after 2015-06-25 and regenerate SSH keys to replace the compromised default credentials.

Fix this in Content Security Management Virtual Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4216 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2015-4216 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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