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T CoffeeApplication · Tcoffee

CVE-2015-8621

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-08-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.00.8cbe486-1 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
t-coffee before 11.00.8cbe486-2 allows local users to write to ~/.t_coffee globally.

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 · moderate confidence

t-coffee versions before 11.00.8cbe486 contain a file permission vulnerability allowing local users to write to the ~/.t_coffee configuration directory, likely through improper handling of file or directory creation that permits symlink attacks or unauthorized access.

MitigationUpgrade to t-coffee version 11.00.8cbe486 or later to obtain the security fix; additionally audit and correct permissions on existing ~/.t_coffee directories to prevent unauthorized local user access.

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
T CoffeeApplication
Affected:<= 11.00.8cbe486-1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed t-coffee version
    Run 't_coffee --version' or 't_coffee -version' to obtain the version number
    Affected if Version is <= 11.00.8cbe486-1 or any version before 11.00.8cbe486
  2. Locate the t-coffee configuration directory
    Check for the presence of ~/.t_coffee directory using 'ls -la ~ | grep t_coffee' or 'ls -la ~/.t_coffee'
    Affected if The ~/.t_coffee directory exists and was created by a vulnerable version of t-coffee
  3. Verify permissions on ~/.t_coffee directory
    Run 'ls -ld ~/.t_coffee' to view directory permissions; check if other users have write access (permissions should not include 'w' for others or group)
    Affected if Permissions allow write access by other local users (e.g., mode shows 'rwxrwxrwx' or includes 'w' for others/group)
  4. Check for insecure file creation in configuration directory
    Inspect contents of ~/.t_coffee for files with overly permissive permissions using 'ls -la ~/.t_coffee'
    Affected if Files or subdirectories within ~/.t_coffee are world-writable or group-writable

A user is affected if t-coffee version is 11.00.8cbe486 or earlier and the ~/.t_coffee directory or its contents have permissions allowing write access by other local users.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.00.8cbe486-1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to t-coffee version 11.00.8cbe486 or later to obtain the security fix; additionally audit and correct permissions on existing ~/.t_coffee directories to prevent unauthorized local user access.

Fix this in T Coffee Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2015-8621 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data