CVE-2015-4523
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 · uneditedBlue Coat Malware Analysis Appliance (MAA) before 4.2.5 and Malware Analyzer G2 allow remote attackers to bypass a virtual machine protection mechanism and consequently write to arbitrary files, cause a denial of service (host reboot or reset to factory defaults), or execute arbitrary code via vectors related to saving files during analysis.
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 confidenceBlue Coat Malware Analysis Appliance (MAA) before 4.2.5 and Malware Analyzer G2 contain a vulnerability allowing remote attackers to bypass the virtual machine protection mechanism that isolates analyzed malware. This bypass enables writing to arbitrary files on the host system, causing denial of service through host reboot or factory reset, or executing arbitrary code with host-level privileges via vectors related to saving files during the analysis workflow.
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<= 4.2<= 3.5CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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 installed product and versionAccess the appliance management interface or use CLI command 'show version' or check the about/system information page in the web UI. Note the exact version number of the installed Malware Analysis Appliance or Malware Analyzer G2.Affected if The installed version is Symantec Malware Analysis Appliance at 4.2 or lower, or Symantec Malware Analyzer G2 at 3.5 or lower.
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Verify the analysis workflow is accessibleLog into the appliance and confirm that the malware analysis functionality is enabled and accessible. Check if users can submit files for analysis through the web interface or API.Affected if The analysis feature is active and accessible, as the vulnerability is exploited through the file-saving workflow during malware analysis.
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Confirm network accessibility of management interfacesDetermine if the appliance management interface or analysis submission endpoints are reachable from network segments that are not restricted. Use telnet, nc, or curl to test connectivity to ports 8080, 8443, or the configured management ports.Affected if Management or analysis interfaces are exposed to untrusted networks, as this is a remote bypass vulnerability.
You are affected if your installed version is 4.2 or lower for Malware Analysis Appliance or 3.5 or lower for Malware Analyzer G2, and the analysis workflow is accessible over the 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 · scopedUpgrade to Blue Coat MAA version 4.2.5 or later which contains the fix for the VM protection bypass. If immediate upgrade is not possible, restrict network access to the management interfaces and disable unnecessary file export features until patching can be completed.
Malware Analysis Appliance 4.2.5+ | Malware Analyzer G2 3.6+
- 1. Backup all current configurations and analysis data from the Malware Analysis Appliance
- 2. Download the updated Malware Analysis Appliance version 4.2.5 or later from the Blue Coat support portal at bto.bluecoat.com
- 3. Access the MAA administrative interface and navigate to the system upgrade section
- 4. Upload the new version and initiate the upgrade process
- 5. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the version number in the admin interface
- 6. For Malware Analyzer G2, obtain version 3.6 or later from Blue Coat support and apply the same upgrade procedure
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4523 — 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-2015-4523 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data