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Mds PulsenetApplication · Ge

CVE-2015-6459

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-09-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.1.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Absolute path traversal vulnerability in the download feature in FileDownloadServlet in GE Digital Energy MDS PulseNET and MDS PulseNET Enterprise before 3.1.5 allows remote attackers to read or delete arbitrary files via a full pathname.

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 confidence

A critical absolute path traversal vulnerability exists in the FileDownloadServlet of GE Digital Energy MDS PulseNET and MDS PulseNET Enterprise versions prior to 3.1.5. The download feature fails to properly validate or sanitize user-supplied file path inputs, allowing remote attackers to use full pathnames to access or delete arbitrary files on the host system with the privileges of the web application.

MitigationUpgrade to MDS PulseNET or MDS PulseNET Enterprise version 3.1.5 or later, which contains the fix for this path traversal vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, implement input validation on the FileDownloadServlet to restrict path inputs and disable the delete functionality until the patch can be applied.

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
Mds PulsenetApplication
Affected:<= 3.1.3

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed MDS PulseNET product and version
    Locate the application installation directory and check version files, or access the application's about/login page which typically displays version information. Common locations may include version.txt, about page, or configuration files in the installation root.
    Affected if The installed version is MDS PulseNET or MDS PulseNET Enterprise version 3.1.3 or earlier (any version <= 3.1.3)
  2. Confirm the application version is within vulnerable range
    Compare the identified version number against the affected range. Versions prior to 3.1.5 are considered vulnerable, with the specific vulnerable range being <= 3.1.3.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.1.3, 3.1.2, 3.1.1, 3.1.0, or any earlier version of MDS PulseNET or MDS PulseNET Enterprise
  3. Verify FileDownloadServlet endpoint accessibility
    Check if the web application exposes the FileDownloadServlet endpoint. This is typically accessible via a URL path containing 'FileDownloadServlet' or similar download-related servlet mapping in the web.xml deployment descriptor.
    Affected if The FileDownloadServlet is exposed and accessible without additional authentication beyond basic web app login
  4. Inspect file download functionality configuration
    Examine the application's configuration files (such as web.xml or application-specific config files) to determine if the download feature is enabled and how path parameters are handled.
    Affected if The download feature is enabled and the application accepts file path parameters without validation

You are affected if you are running MDS PulseNET or MDS PulseNET Enterprise version 3.1.3 or earlier (any version <= 3.1.3) with the FileDownloadServlet accessible and the download functionality enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 3.1.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to MDS PulseNET or MDS PulseNET Enterprise version 3.1.5 or later, which contains the fix for this path traversal vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, implement input validation on the FileDownloadServlet to restrict path inputs and disable the delete functionality until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

MDS PulseNET 3.1.5 or later

  1. Backup the current MDS PulseNET installation and configuration
  2. Stop the MDS PulseNET service
  3. Download MDS PulseNET version 3.1.5 or later from the official GE Digital Energy support portal (gedigitalenergy.com)
  4. Install the upgrade following the standard upgrade procedure documented in the MDS PulseNET administration guide
  5. Restart the MDS PulseNET service after installation
  6. Verify the FileDownloadServlet is functioning correctly and the path traversal vulnerability is mitigated by testing that absolute path requests are rejected

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mds Pulsenet Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-6459 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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