Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian
CVE-2015-8325
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 · uneditedThe do_setup_env function in session.c in sshd in OpenSSH through 7.2p2, when the UseLogin feature is enabled and PAM is configured to read .pam_environment files in user home directories, allows local users to gain privileges by triggering a crafted environment for the /bin/login program, as demonstrated by an LD_PRELOAD environment variable.
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 confidenceThe do_setup_env function in OpenSSH's session.c (versions through 7.2p2) improperly handles environment variables when UseLogin is enabled and PAM reads .pam_environment files from user home directories. A local attacker can inject malicious environment variables (particularly LD_PRELOAD) that execute during /bin/login, allowing privilege escalation to the target user's privileges.
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
Debian LinuxOperating system
= 7.0= 8.0
Ubuntu CoreOperating system
= 15.04
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
= 12.04= 14.04= 15.10
Ubuntu TouchOperating system
= 15.04<= 7.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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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Check OpenSSH versionRun 'sshd -v' or 'sshd -V' to display the version, or check the package version with 'dpkg -l openssh-server' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'rpm -q openssh-server' (Red Hat)Affected if Version is 7.2p2 or earlier, or the package version falls within the affected distribution versions listed (Debian 7.0, 8.0; Ubuntu 12.04, 14.04, 15.04, 15.10)
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Verify UseLogin setting in sshd_configCheck /etc/ssh/sshd_config for the line 'UseLogin' - run 'grep -i ^UseLogin /etc/ssh/sshd_config'Affected if UseLogin is set to 'yes' or 'UseLogin yes' is present in the configuration
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Confirm PAM is enabled for sshdCheck for the existence of /etc/pam.d/sshd or examine /etc/ssh/sshd_config for 'UsePAM yes'Affected if PAM is enabled for SSH daemon (UsePAM yes in sshd_config)
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Check PAM configuration for .pam_environment handlingExamine /etc/security/pam_env.conf or /etc/pam.d/* files for modules that read .pam_environment from user home directories, particularly pam_env module with user-specific settingsAffected if PAM is configured to read .pam_environment files from user home directories (e.g., pam_env with user read permission)
User is affected if running OpenSSH <= 7.2 with UseLogin enabled AND PAM configured to read .pam_environment files from user home directories, allowing local privilege escalation via injected environment variables like LD_PRELOAD.
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 dataDisable UseLogin in sshd_config (UseLogin no) and configure PAM to ignore .pam_environment files in user home directories, or upgrade to OpenSSH 7.3 or later.
Fix this in Debian Linux
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8325 — 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-2015-8325 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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