CVE-2015-5005
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 · uneditedCSPOC in IBM PowerHA SystemMirror on AIX 6.1 and 7.1 allows remote authenticated users to perform an "su root" action by leveraging presence on the cluster-wide password-change list.
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 confidenceCSPOC (Cluster Services Point of Control) in IBM PowerHA SystemMirror on AIX 6.1 and 7.1 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where remote authenticated users can execute 'su root' by exploiting their presence on the cluster-wide password-change list, effectively bypassing normal authorization controls to gain root access.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
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.
-
Confirm PowerHA SystemMirror is installedRun 'lslpp -l | grep -i powerha' or 'lscluster -ver' on the AIX system to list installed PowerHA packages and versionAffected if PowerHA SystemMirror packages are found on AIX 6.1 or 7.1 systems
-
Verify CSPOC component is configuredCheck if CSPOC is enabled in the cluster configuration using 'lscluster -c' or review clusternode settings via 'lscluster -ni'Affected if CSPOC/Cluster Services Point of Control is active or configured in the PowerHA cluster
-
Inspect the cluster-wide password-change listLocate and review the cluster-wide password-change list file (typically in /var/ha/cluster or configuration directory) for unauthorized or unexpected user entriesAffected if Unauthorized or unexpected user accounts are present in the cluster password-change list
-
Check user cluster permissionsReview which authenticated users have cluster access permissions via 'lsuser -a' or cluster management tools, focusing on users with elevated privilegesAffected if Remote authenticated users exist who have been added to the cluster-wide password-change mechanism allowing 'su root' access
A system is affected if it runs PowerHA SystemMirror on AIX 6.1 or 7.1 with CSPOC configured and contains unauthorized entries in the cluster-wide password-change list that allow privilege escalation to root.
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 IBM APARs/patches for PowerHA SystemMirror to address this privilege escalation, and review/clean the cluster-wide password-change list to remove unauthorized entries.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5005 — 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-2015-5005 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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