CVE-2015-7491
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 · uneditedCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal 8.0.x before 8.0.0.1 CF20 and 8.5.x before 8.5.0.0 CF09 allows remote authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL.
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM WebSphere Portal allows authenticated users to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a crafted URL. The flaw exists in versions 8.0.x before Cumulative Fix 20 and 8.5.x before Cumulative Fix 09.
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= 8.0.0.0= 8.0.0.1= 8.5.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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 WebSphere Portal versionAccess the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console, navigate to Portal Administration > Theme and Branding, or use the versionInfo command in the PortalServer/bin directory to determine the base version (8.0.x or 8.5.x).Affected if The version is 8.0.0.0 through 8.0.x or 8.5.0.0 through 8.5.x.
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Determine Cumulative Fix levelCheck the installed Cumulative Fix by reviewing the fix list in the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console under Updates, or run the versionInfo command with the -fixes flag in the PortalServer/bin directory to list all applied fixes.Affected if The Cumulative Fix is earlier than CF20 for version 8.0.x or earlier than CF09 for version 8.5.x.
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Confirm WebSphere Portal is running and accessibleVerify the portal server is active and the web interface is reachable by accessing the portal URL (typically on port 10039 or 443/80). Check that the portal application is responding to HTTP/HTTPS requests.Affected if The portal is running and accessible over the network.
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Verify authentication is enabledConfirm that user authentication is configured in the WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console under Security > Global Security. The XSS vulnerability requires an authenticated user session to exploit.Affected if Authentication is enabled and users can log in to the portal.
A user is affected if WebSphere Portal version 8.0.x is below CF20 or version 8.5.x is below CF09, and the portal is accessible with authentication enabled.
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 dataApply the appropriate IBM WebSphere Portal cumulative fix (CF20 for 8.0.x or CF09 for 8.5.x) from IBM Fix Central to patch the vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7491 — 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-2015-7491 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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