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Websphere PortalApplication · Ibm

CVE-2015-4993

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2015-12-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal 6.1.0 through 6.1.0.6 CF27, 6.1.5 through 6.1.5.3 CF27, 7.0.0 through 7.0.0.2 CF29, 8.0.0 before 8.0.0.1 CF19, and 8.5.0 before CF08 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL, a different vulnerability than CVE-2015-4998.

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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via crafted URLs. The vulnerability affects versions 6.1.0 through 6.1.0.6 CF27, 6.1.5 through 6.1.5.3 CF27, 7.0.0 through 7.0.0.2 CF29, 8.0.0 before 8.0.0.1 CF19, and 8.5.0 before CF08. This is a reflected XSS vulnerability with CVSS 6.1 (Medium).

MitigationApply the appropriate cumulative fix (CF) for the installed version: CF27 for 6.1.0.x/6.1.5.x, CF29 for 7.0.0.x, CF19 for 8.0.0.x, or CF08 for 8.5.0.x. After patching, validate that URL parameters are properly sanitized.

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
Websphere PortalApplication
Affected:= 6.1.0.0= 6.1.0.1= 6.1.0.2= 6.1.0.3= 6.1.0.4= 6.1.0.5= 6.1.0.6= 6.1.5.0= 6.1.5.1= 6.1.5.2= 6.1.5.3= 7.0.0.0

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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 the installed WebSphere Portal version
    Access the WebSphere Application Server administration console or use the versionInfo command from the Portal bin directory to determine the exact Portal version installed
    Affected if The installed version matches any of these ranges: 6.1.0.0 through 6.1.0.6, 6.1.5.0 through 6.1.5.3, 7.0.0.0 through 7.0.0.2, 8.0.0.0, or 8.5.0.0 (prior to their respective cumulative fixes)
  2. Confirm the cumulative fix level
    Check the installed cumulative fix (CF) level for the Portal installation via the administration console or versionInfo output
    Affected if The cumulative fix is CF27 or earlier for versions 6.1.0.x/6.1.5.x, CF29 or earlier for 7.0.0.x, CF19 or earlier for 8.0.0.x, or CF08 or earlier for 8.5.0.x
  3. Verify portal web interface accessibility
    Confirm that the WebSphere Portal web interface is accessible to network users
    Affected if The portal is externally or internally accessible and responds to HTTP/HTTPS requests
  4. Inspect URL handling for reflected parameters
    Review portal configuration files and test URL parameter reflection by crafting test URLs with script payload patterns in parameters to observe if input is reflected unsanitized in the response
    Affected if URL parameters are reflected in the response without proper encoding or sanitization, indicating the XSS vulnerability is present and exploitable

The environment is affected if the installed IBM WebSphere Portal version falls within the listed ranges AND the cumulative fix applied is earlier than the required threshold for that version branch.

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

Apply the appropriate cumulative fix (CF) for the installed version: CF27 for 6.1.0.x/6.1.5.x, CF29 for 7.0.0.x, CF19 for 8.0.0.x, or CF08 for 8.5.0.x. After patching, validate that URL parameters are properly sanitized.

Fix this in Websphere Portal Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2015-4993 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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