CVE-2015-7820
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 · uneditedRace condition in the administration-panel web service in IBM System Networking Switch Center (SNSC) before 7.3.1.5 and Lenovo Switch Center before 8.1.2.0 allows remote attackers to obtain privileged-account access, and consequently provide ZipDownload.jsp input containing directory traversal sequences to read arbitrary files, via a request to port 40080 or 40443.
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 confidenceRace condition in the administration-panel web service allows remote attackers to gain privileged-account access via ports 40080 or 40443. Once authenticated with elevated privileges, attackers can exploit directory traversal in ZipDownload.jsp to read arbitrary files on the 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<= 8.1.1.0<= 7.3.1.4CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:N/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 if Lenovo or IBM Switch Center is installedCheck for installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Lenovo\Switch Center or C:\Program Files\IBM\System Networking Switch Center, or look for running processes named 'Switch Center' in Task ManagerAffected if The software is installed on the system
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Check the installed versionLocate the version information file (typically version.ini or about dialog within the application) or run 'switchCenter -v' from the installation directory's bin folderAffected if Version is 8.1.1.0 or lower for Lenovo Switch Center, or 7.3.1.4 or lower for IBM System Networking Switch Center
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Verify if vulnerable web service ports are listeningRun 'netstat -an | findstr "40080 40443"' or use PowerShell: Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 40080,40443 to check if these ports are open and listeningAffected if Ports 40080 or 40443 are in LISTENING state and accessible over the network
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Confirm administration panel is network accessibleAttempt to access http://localhost:40080/ or https://localhost:40443/ from the server, or use a browser to reach the management interfaceAffected if The administration panel web service responds to requests on ports 40080 or 40443
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Check if ZipDownload.jsp exists and is accessibleVerify the file exists in the web application directory (typically under webapps\admin or similar path within the installation folder) and attempt to access it via the vulnerable URL patternAffected if ZipDownload.jsp is present and reachable through the web interface on the vulnerable ports
A user is affected if Lenovo Switch Center version 8.1.1.0 or lower, or IBM System Networking Switch Center version 7.3.1.4 or lower is installed and the administration web service on ports 40080 or 40443 is exposed and accessible.
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 to IBM System Networking Switch Center 7.3.1.5 or Lenovo Switch Center 8.1.2.0 or later. If upgrading is not feasible, restrict network access to ports 40080 and 40443 to trusted administrative IP addresses.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2015-7820 — 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-2015-7820 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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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