CVE-2015-5038
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 Connections 3.x before 3.0.1.1 CR3, 4.0 before CR4, 4.5 before CR5, and 5.0 before CR3 does not properly detect recursion during XML entity expansion, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU consumption and application crash) via a crafted XML document containing a large number of nested entity references, a similar issue to CVE-2003-1564.
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 Connections fails to properly detect recursion during XML entity expansion, allowing remote attackers to send crafted XML documents with deeply nested entity references that cause exponential expansion leading to CPU exhaustion and application crash (Billion Laughs/XXE DoS variant).
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<= 3.0.1.1= 4.0= 4.5= 5.0CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Confirm IBM Connections is installedCheck running processes or installed applications for 'IBM Connections' or 'lc' npm module references. On Windows, check Program Files for IBM folder. On Linux, check /opt/IBM for Connections installation directories.Affected if IBM Connections software is not present on the system, then the system is not affected.
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Identify the installed IBM Connections versionLocate the version file or About page in the IBM Connections installation directory. Common paths include the /about directory in the deployment or check the version.properties file in the installation root.Affected if The installed version is <= 3.0.1.1, = 4.0, = 4.5, or = 5.0, indicating the system falls within the affected range.
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Verify XML import or parsing features are accessibleCheck if XML-based import APIs, ATOM feed endpoints, or data import functionality is exposed. Review the application configuration files for enabled XML processing features.Affected if XML import, ATOM, or data import features that accept external XML input are enabled and reachable, creating the attack surface for malicious XML documents.
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Confirm XML parser security limits are not configuredReview the XML parser configuration or application server settings (typically in ibm-web-ext.xml or similar config files) for entity expansion limits. Look for settings like 'entityExpansionLimit' or 'maxEntityDepth'.Affected if No entity expansion limits or XML parser hardening has been configured, meaning the parser will process deeply nested entity references without restriction.
The environment is affected if IBM Connections version 3.0.1.1 or earlier, 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0 is installed AND XML import/parsing features are exposed without entity expansion limits configured.
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 dataConfigure XML parsers to limit entity expansion depth, disable external entity processing, or apply the vendor-released patches for the specific affected versions (3.0.1.1 CR3, 4.0 CR4, 4.5 CR5, 5.0 CR3).
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5038 — 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-2015-5038 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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