CVE-2015-4650
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 · uneditedAruba Networks ClearPass Policy Manager before 6.4.7 and 6.5.x before 6.5.2 allows remote attackers to gain shell access and execute arbitrary code with root privileges via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceAruba Networks ClearPass Policy Manager contains a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to gain root shell access and execute arbitrary commands. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 6.4.7 and 6.5.x prior to 6.5.2, with the attack vector remaining unspecified in available documentation.
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<= 6.4.6= 6.5.0= 6.5.1CVSS 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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Check ClearPass Policy Manager version via CLILog into the ClearPass CLI as admin and run the command to display the system version, typically 'show version' or 'show system-info'. Note the exact version number displayed.Affected if The displayed version is 6.4.6 or lower, or is exactly 6.5.0 or 6.5.1.
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Check ClearPass Policy Manager version via web interfaceAccess the ClearPass Policy Manager admin web interface and navigate to the About or System Information page to view the installed version number.Affected if The version shown is 6.4.6 or lower, or is exactly 6.5.0 or 6.5.1.
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Verify management interface network exposureReview network firewall rules or access control lists to determine if the ClearPass management interface (HTTPS admin port) is accessible from untrusted or external networks.Affected if The management interface is reachable from networks outside the trusted internal environment.
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Confirm ClearPass Policy Manager is runningIdentify whether ClearPass Policy Manager is currently deployed and operational in the environment by checking asset inventories or by accessing the login page.Affected if ClearPass Policy Manager is deployed and the version falls within the affected ranges.
A user is affected if ClearPass Policy Manager version 6.4.6 or lower, or version 6.5.0 or 6.5.1 is installed and the management interface is network-accessible.
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 ClearPass Policy Manager version 6.4.7 or 6.5.2 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to the ClearPass management interface using network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure to untrusted networks.
6.4.7 or later for 6.4.x branch; 6.5.2 or later for 6.5.x branch
- 1. Identify the current version of ClearPass Policy Manager by accessing the Administration > System > Versions page in the ClearPass web UI
- 2. If running version 6.4.6 or earlier, plan upgrade to version 6.4.7 or later in the 6.4.x branch
- 3. If running version 6.5.0 or 6.5.1, plan upgrade to version 6.5.2 or later in the 6.5.x branch
- 4. Review Aruba upgrade documentation and release notes for upgrade prerequisites and procedures
- 5. Perform a backup of the ClearPass configuration before upgrading
- 6. Execute the upgrade following Aruba's standard upgrade procedure for the target version
- 7. After upgrade, verify the new version is running and validate normal operation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4650 — 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-2015-4650 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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