CVE-2015-7751
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 · uneditedJuniper Junos OS before 12.1X44-D50, 12.1X46 before 12.1X46-D35, 12.1X47 before 12.1X47-D25, 12.3 before 12.3R9, 12.3X48 before 12.3X48-D15, 13.2 before 13.2R7, 13.2X51 before 13.2X51-D35, 13.3 before 13.3R6, 14.1 before 14.1R5, 14.1X50 before 14.1X50-D105, 14.1X51 before 14.1X51-D70, 14.1X53 before 14.1X53-D25, 14.1X55 before 14.1X55-D20, 14.2 before 14.2R1, 15.1 before 15.1F2 or 15.1R1, and 15.1X49 before 15.1X49-D10 does not require a password for the root user when pam.conf is "corrupted," which allows local users to gain root privileges by modifying the file.
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 confidenceJunos OS contains a vulnerability in its PAM (Pluggable Authentication Modules) configuration where the pam.conf file can be modified to bypass root password authentication. When pam.conf is in a specific corrupted state, local users can gain unrestricted root privileges without providing a password.
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<= 12.1x44= 12.1x46= 12.1x47= 12.3= 12.3x48= 13.2= 13.2x51= 13.3= 14.1= 14.1x50= 14.1x51= 14.1x53CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/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.
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Check Junos OS versionRun 'show version' command on the Junos deviceAffected if Version matches one of the affected releases: 12.1x44 and earlier, 12.1x46, 12.1x47, 12.3, 12.3x48, 13.2, 13.2x51, 13.3, 14.1, 14.1x50, 14.1x51, or 14.1x53
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Verify pam.conf file integrityRetrieve /etc/pam.conf and calculate its checksum or compare to a known-good baseline configurationAffected if The file has been modified from its expected state or shows signs of corruption
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Inspect pam.conf for abnormal entriesRead /etc/pam.conf and examine the authentication stack configuration for any entries that could cause authentication to fail open or bypass password verificationAffected if The configuration contains unexpected or malformed auth entries that would skip password checking
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Check for unauthorized root access attemptsReview system logs for successful root logins without password prompt or authentication failures that succeededAffected if Logs show root access was gained without valid password authentication
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 Junos OS to the fixed versions (12.1X44-D50+, 12.1X46-D35+, 12.3R9+, 13.2R7+, 14.1R5+, 15.1F2+, 15.1X49-D10+). Additionally, verify pam.conf integrity and monitor for unauthorized modifications.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-7751 — 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-2015-7751 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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