CVE-2015-7450
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 · uneditedSerialized-object interfaces in certain IBM analytics, business solutions, cognitive, IT infrastructure, and mobile and social products allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a crafted serialized Java object, related to the InvokerTransformer class in the Apache Commons Collections library.
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 confidenceJava deserialization vulnerability in IBM products using Apache Commons Collections library allows remote code execution through crafted serialized objects leveraging the InvokerTransformer class. Attackers send malicious serialized Java objects that trigger arbitrary command execution 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= 5.2= 5.1= 2.1= 2.1.1= 2.1.1.2= 3.1= 3.1.0.1= 3.1.0.2= 3.1.2= 3.1.2.1>= 3.0, <= 3.0.0.6>= 3.5, <= 3.5.0.3>= 10.0, <= 10.0.0.2= 11.0>= 10.0, <= 10.0.0.2= 11.0= 7.0.0.0= 8.0.0.0= 8.5= 8.5.0.0= 8.5.5.5CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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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Identify installed IBM productLocate and check the version of the IBM product in your environment (e.g., IBM WebSphere Application Server, Sterling B2B Integrator, Tivoli Common Reporting, Watson Content Analytics, or Watson Explorer components) using product-specific commands or configuration filesAffected if The installed product matches one of the affected products AND version numbers listed in the CVE (e.g., WebSphere 7.0.0.0, 8.0.0.0, 8.5, 8.5.0.0, 8.5.5.5; Sterling B2B Integrator 5.2; Sterling Integrator 5.1; etc.)
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Locate Apache Commons Collections librarySearch for commons-collections*.jar files in the application installation directory, lib folder, or classpath. Common locations include the product's lib directory or WEB-INF/lib folder for web applicationsAffected if The commons-collections JAR file is present in the product's installation
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Check Commons Collections versionInspect the MANIFEST.MF file inside the commons-collections JAR file, or use a tool like 'jar tf' to list the archive contents and identify the version from the jar filename or manifestAffected if The Commons Collections version is 3.2.1 or earlier (versions prior to 3.2.2 are vulnerable)
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Verify InvokerTransformer class availabilityExamine if the InvokerTransformer class from org.apache.commons.collections.functors is present and loadable in the classpath by checking jar contents or attempting to load the classAffected if The InvokerTransformer class exists in the Commons Collections library (this class is the primary vector for exploitation)
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Identify exposed Java deserialization endpointsReview application network configurations, web.xml descriptors, and any SOAP/REST endpoints that accept serialized Java objects. Check for T3, IIOP, HTTP endpoints, or similar remoting interfaces commonly exploitedAffected if The product exposes network endpoints that accept Java serialized objects (such as SOAP, RMI, or custom serialization endpoints) to untrusted networks
Your environment is affected if you are running any of the listed IBM product versions with Apache Commons Collections 3.2.1 or earlier that exposes Java deserialization endpoints to 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 · scopedApply IBM-supplied patches to affected products, or upgrade Apache Commons Collections library to a non-vulnerable version. If patches unavailable, implement network segmentation and monitor for deserialization attack patterns.
Contact IBM Support for product-specific fixed versions; for WebSphere Application Server apply IBM Security Bulletin fixes (contact IBM Fix Central)
- Identify the exact IBM product and version from the affected list (Sterling B2b Integrator 5.2, Sterling Integrator 5.1, Tivoli Common Reporting 2.1/2.1.1/2.1.1.2/3.1, Watson Content Analytics 3.0-3.0.0.6/3.5-3.5.0.3, Watson Explorer Analytical Components 10.0-10.0.0.2/11.0, Watson Explorer Annotation Administration Console 10.0-10.0.0.2/11.0, WebSphere Application Server 7.0/8.0/8.5)
- Contact IBM Support to obtain the specific patch or fixed version for your product
- IBM published Security Bulletins for this vulnerability (e.g., IBM APAR numbers for WebSphere) - obtain and apply the relevant interim fix or service pack
- For WebSphere Application Server specifically, apply the relevant security patch from IBM Fix Central for versions 7.0, 8.0, or 8.5
- After applying the patch, restart the affected services to load the updated libraries
- Verify the fix by checking that the Apache Commons Collections library has been updated to a version that does not contain the vulnerable InvokerTransformer class
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7450 — 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-2015-7450 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data