CVE-2015-5187
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 · uneditedCandlepin allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by obtaining Java exception statements as a result of excessive web traffic.
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 confidenceCandlepin (a Java-based subscription management component, typically part of Red Hat Satellite) exposes sensitive information through Java exception stack traces that are returned to users during periods of high web traffic. The excessive traffic triggers errors that leak Java exception details to remote attackers.
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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L
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 Candlepin is installedCheck for Candlepin Java application by locating the candlepin.war file or the Candlepin service process (typically runs in /var/lib/candlepin or similar application directories). Use commands like 'find / -name candlepin*' or check running Java processes for candlepin.Affected if Candlepin is present in the environment and running as a web application
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Verify error handling configurationInspect the application's web.xml or equivalent error-page configuration (often in /var/lib/candlepin/embedded/candlepin.conf or in the embedded Tomcat configuration). Look for <error-page> directives and check if they specify location to custom error pages rather than allowing default exception handling.Affected if No custom error pages are configured or <error-page> entries are missing for error codes 500, 403, 404, and exceptions
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Test for stack trace disclosureTrigger an error condition by making invalid requests to the Candlepin API endpoint (such as malformed JSON submissions to /candlepin/consumers or /candlepin/owners) and capture the HTTP response. Use: curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/candlepin/consumers -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{invalid}'Affected if The HTTP 500 response body contains Java exception class names, stack trace lines (at ..., caused by...), or file path references
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Check error response headers and bodyReview actual HTTP responses returned by Candlepin during error conditions. Examine both response headers (Content-Type) and response body for any indication of Java exception output.Affected if Error responses contain raw Java exception messages, stack traces, or reveal internal package/class names from the Candlepin Java code
If Candlepin is running and any error response exposes Java exception stack traces, class names, or internal code details to clients, the environment is affected by CVE-2015-5187.
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 dataImplement proper exception handling to catch and handle errors without exposing stack traces or exception messages to end users; ensure custom error pages are served instead of raw Java exceptions.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5187 — 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-2015-5187 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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