CVE-2015-4963
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 · uneditedIBM Security Access Manager for Web 7.x before 7.0.0.16 and 8.x before 8.0.1.3 mishandles WebSEAL HTTPTransformation requests, which allows remote attackers to read or write to arbitrary files 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 · high confidenceIBM Security Access Manager for Web versions 7.x before 7.0.0.16 and 8.x before 8.0.1.3 have a vulnerability in the WebSEAL component where HTTPTransformation requests are improperly handled, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to read or write arbitrary files on the system via unspecified vectors.
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= 7.0= 7.0.0.1= 7.0.0.2= 7.0.0.3= 7.0.0.4= 7.0.0.5= 7.0.0.6= 7.0.0.7= 7.0.0.8= 7.0.0.9= 7.0.0.10= 7.0.0.11CVSS 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
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Verify WebSEAL component is installedCheck for WebSEAL process running or look for WebSEAL installation directories (typically /opt/IBM/WebSEAL or similar). Use commands like 'ps aux | grep -i webseal' or check for the webseald binary.Affected if WebSEAL is not installed or not running, the vulnerability does not apply
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Determine installed IBM Security Access Manager for Web versionRun 'rpm -q isam-web' or check /opt/IBM/isam/version.properties, or use the ISAM version command. Compare the version number to the affected range: versions 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.0.11, or 8.x before 8.0.1.3.Affected if Version falls within 7.0.0.0-7.0.0.11 or 8.x before 8.0.1.3
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Confirm HTTPTransformation feature is enabledExamine the WebSEAL configuration file (webseald.conf or equivalent) for 'http-transformation' or 'HTTPTransformation' settings. Check /opt/IBM/WebSEAL/<instance>/etc/webseald.conf.Affected if HTTPTransformation directive is present and set to enabled in WebSEAL configuration
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Check for unauthenticated access to management interfacesReview WebSEAL access logs and junction configurations for unexpected HTTPTransformation requests from unauthenticated sources. Inspect /var/log/webseal/ for unusual requests.Affected if Unauthenticated HTTPTransformation requests are observed in logs
You are affected if WebSEAL is running with HTTPTransformation enabled on IBM Security Access Manager for Web versions 7.0.0.0-7.0.0.11 or 8.x before 8.0.1.3.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-supplied patches (7.0.0.16 for v7 or 8.0.1.3 for v8) or upgrade to a patched release. Restrict network access to WebSEAL management interfaces as an interim control.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4963 — 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-2015-4963 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
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