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EosOperating system · Arista

CVE-2015-8236

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-11-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 4.11.11 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
Arista EOS before 4.11.12, 4.12 before 4.12.11, 4.13 before 4.13.14M, 4.14 before 4.14.5FX.5, and 4.15 before 4.15.0FX1.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code as root by leveraging management-plane access, aka Bug 138716.

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

This is a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Arista EOS network switch firmware. Attackers with management-plane access can execute arbitrary code with root privileges on vulnerable switches. Affected versions span multiple EOS branches (4.11.x, 4.12.x, 4.13.x, 4.14.x, 4.15.x) prior to their respective patched releases.

MitigationUpgrade Arista EOS to version 4.11.12 or later (for 4.11 branch), 4.12.11 or later (for 4.12 branch), 4.13.14M or later (for 4.13 branch), 4.14.5FX.5 or later (for 4.14 branch), or 4.15.0FX1.1 or later (for 4.15 branch). Additionally, restrict management-plane access to trusted networks or use ACLs to limit exposure.

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
EosOperating system
Affected:<= 4.11.11= 4.12.5.2= 4.12.6.1= 4.12.7.1= 4.12.8= 4.12.8.1= 4.12.9= 4.12.10= 4.13.1.1f= 4.13.2.1f= 4.13.3.1f= 4.13.4.1f

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. Check installed EOS version
    Execute 'show version' on the Arista switch CLI to display the EOS software version
    Affected if The displayed version matches one of the affected versions: <= 4.11.11, 4.12.5.2, 4.12.6.1, 4.12.7.1, 4.12.8, 4.12.8.1, 4.12.9, 4.12.10, 4.13.1.1f, 4.13.2.1f, 4.13.3.1f, 4.13.4.1f OR falls within an unpatched branch (4.14.x before 4.14.5FX.5, 4.15.x before 4.15.0FX1.1)
  2. Identify EOS branch
    Execute 'show version' and note the major.minor branch (e.g., 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15)
    Affected if The switch runs EOS 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, or 4.15 branch at a version prior to its respective patched release
  3. Verify management plane accessibility
    Review the switch configuration for management interfaces (Management0, MGMT0, etc.) using 'show management interfaces' and check for exposed IP addresses or permissive access controls
    Affected if Management interfaces are reachable from untrusted networks or have no ACL restrictions, enabling an attacker to reach the management plane
  4. Check for vulnerable service or feature
    This vulnerability is present in the core EOS code and does not require a specific feature to be enabled; any switch running affected EOS versions is potentially vulnerable
    Affected if The switch is running any of the affected EOS versions listed, regardless of configuration

A switch is affected if it runs EOS version 4.11.x through 4.11.11, specific 4.12.x versions, 4.13.x versions before 4.13.14M, 4.14.x before 4.14.5FX.5, or 4.15.x before 4.15.0FX1.1 AND has management-plane network accessibility.

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 4.11.11
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Arista EOS to version 4.11.12 or later (for 4.11 branch), 4.12.11 or later (for 4.12 branch), 4.13.14M or later (for 4.13 branch), 4.14.5FX.5 or later (for 4.14 branch), or 4.15.0FX1.1 or later (for 4.15 branch). Additionally, restrict management-plane access to trusted networks or use ACLs to limit exposure.

Recommended fix High confidence

4.11.12, 4.12.11, 4.13.14M, 4.14.5FX.5, or 4.15.0FX1.1 (depending on current branch)

  1. Identify current EOS version using 'show version' command
  2. Determine which EOS branch (4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, or 4.15) is currently running
  3. For EOS 4.11.x: upgrade to 4.11.12 or later
  4. For EOS 4.12.x: upgrade to 4.12.11 or later
  5. For EOS 4.13.x: upgrade to 4.13.14M or later
  6. For EOS 4.14.x: upgrade to 4.14.5FX.5 or later
  7. For EOS 4.15.x: upgrade to 4.15.0FX1.1 or later
  8. Follow standard Arista EOS upgrade procedure using 'install' command
Caveat Review Arista release notes for specific version upgrade considerations; ensure compatibility with existing hardware and configuration

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

Fix this in Eos Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2015-8236 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
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