CVE-2015-4996
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 Rational ClearQuest 7.1.x and 8.0.0.x before 8.0.0.17 and 8.0.1.x before 8.0.1.10 allows local users to spoof database servers and discover credentials 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 confidenceIBM Rational ClearQuest contains a vulnerability in how it authenticates connections to database servers, allowing local users to spoof database servers and intercept/discover credentials. The exact attack vector is not specified, but it appears to involve insufficient validation of server identities during the connection handshake, enabling credential theft through man-in-the-middle or spoofing attacks.
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= 7.1= 7.1.0.1= 7.1.0.2= 7.1.1= 7.1.1.1= 7.1.1.2= 7.1.1.3= 7.1.1.4= 7.1.1.5= 7.1.1.6= 7.1.1.7= 7.1.1.8CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed ClearQuest versionLocate the ClearQuest installation and check its version information (typically in Help > About or installation directory metadata)Affected if The installed version matches 7.1.x or 7.1.1.x (any of 7.1, 7.1.0.1, 7.1.0.2, 7.1.1 through 7.1.1.8)
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Verify database connection encryption statusInspect the ClearQuest client or repository connection settings to determine whether database connections are configured to use encrypted channels (SSL/TLS)Affected if Database connections are configured without encryption or with weak encryption that does not validate server certificates
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Check server certificate validation configurationExamine the ClearQuest database connection profile or configuration files for settings related to certificate validation or server identity verification during the handshakeAffected if Server certificate validation is disabled, optional, or not enforced in the connection configuration
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Review client authentication settingsLook at the authentication parameters between ClearQuest clients and the database server to confirm whether strong mutual authentication is enabledAffected if Mutual authentication is not required or only one-way authentication is configured
You are affected if you are running any ClearQuest version from 7.1.0 through 7.1.1.8 and your database connections lack proper server identity validation or encryption.
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 dataUpgrade to IBM Rational ClearQuest 8.0.0.17, 8.0.1.10, or later. Additionally, ensure database connections use encrypted channels and enforce strong authentication between ClearQuest clients and database servers.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2015-4996 — 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-2015-4996 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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