CVE-2015-5690
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 · uneditedThe management console on Symantec Web Gateway (SWG) appliances with software before 5.2.2 DB 5.0.0.1277 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions and execute arbitrary commands by leveraging a "redirect."
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 confidenceThe management console in Symantec Web Gateway (SWG) appliances versions before 5.2.2 DB 5.0.0.1277 contains an access control bypass vulnerability. An attacker who already possesses valid authentication credentials can exploit a flaw in the console's redirect mechanism to bypass intended role-based restrictions and execute arbitrary operating system commands with elevated privileges.
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<= 5.2.2CVSS 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.
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Identify installed Symantec Web Gateway versionAccess the management console or check system files for the exact SWG version number (typically visible in the console header, about page, or system configuration files)Affected if The installed version is 5.2.2 or any version lower than 5.2.2 DB 5.0.0.1277
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Confirm management console is exposedVerify whether the SWG management console interface is network-accessible (check firewall rules, listening ports on the appliance, or reverse proxy configuration)Affected if The management console is reachable from network segments beyond the trusted administrative network
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Verify role-based access control configurationReview user roles and permission settings within the SWG management console under the administrative settings sectionAffected if Users with standard roles can access functions that should be restricted to administrator-level accounts
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Check for unauthorized command execution indicatorsReview system logs, audit logs, and command history files on the appliance for any unexpected or unauthorized OS-level commands executed outside of normal administrative workflowsAffected if Logs show commands executed by users who should not have elevated privileges according to role-based restrictions
If the installed Symantec Web Gateway version is 5.2.2 or earlier and the management console is network-accessible, the environment is affected by this access control bypass vulnerability.
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 Symantec Web Gateway software to version 5.2.2 DB 5.0.0.1277 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management console access to a limited administrative network and enforce strong authentication for all management interface access.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5690 — 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-2015-5690 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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