CVE-2015-5998
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 · uneditedImpero Education Pro before 5105 relies on the -1|AUTHENTICATE\x02PASSWORD string for authentication, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs via an encrypted command.
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 confidenceImpero Education Pro versions prior to 5105 use a hardcoded authentication string (-1|AUTHENTICATE\x02PASSWORD) to verify users, allowing any remote attacker who knows this static string to bypass authentication entirely and send encrypted commands that execute arbitrary programs on the target system.
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<= 5008CVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/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.
-
Identify installed Impero Education Pro versionCheck the software version through the application (Help > About), Windows Programs and Features, or registry keys under HKLM\Software\ImperoAffected if The installed version is 5008 or earlier (versions prior to 5105)
-
Locate Impero server configuration filesInspect Impero configuration files in the program directory (typically C:\Program Files\Impero or C:\Program Files (x86)\Impero) for files named server.cfg, impero.ini, or similarAffected if Configuration files contain the hardcoded string '-1|AUTHENTICATE\x02PASSWORD'
-
Capture and inspect network authentication trafficUse a network sniffer (such as Wireshark) to capture traffic on the Impero server port (typically port 5555 or 8081) during authentication attemptsAffected if Network packets contain the plaintext string '-1|AUTHENTICATE\x02PASSWORD' instead of user-based credential validation
-
Verify authentication service exposureUse netstat or PowerShell to check for listening ports associated with Impero (run 'netstat -an | findstr "5555"' or similar) and determine if the service is accessible from untrusted networksAffected if The Impero authentication port is exposed to untrusted networks and the version is 5008 or earlier
A system is affected if Impero Education Pro version 5008 or earlier is installed and the hardcoded authentication string is present in configuration files or network traffic.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to Impero Education Pro version 5105 or later, which should replace the hardcoded credential with proper user-based authentication. If upgrading is not immediately possible, network-level segmentation and restricting access to the authentication port can reduce exposure.
Impero Education Pro 5105 or later
- Identify all systems running Impero Education Pro version 5008 or earlier
- Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process
- Backup all critical data and configurations before upgrading
- Download Impero Education Pro version 5105 or later from the official vendor
- Install the upgrade on all affected systems
- Verify the application is running and authentication is functioning properly
- Test that the vulnerability is no longer present
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation20.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5998 — 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-2015-5998 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