CVE-2015-8765
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 · uneditedIntel McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) 4.6.9 and earlier, 5.0.x, 5.1.x before 5.1.3 Hotfix 1106041, and 5.3.x before 5.3.1 Hotfix 1106041 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted serialized Java object, related to the Apache Commons Collections (ACC) library.
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 confidenceThis is a Java deserialization vulnerability in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator stemming from the Apache Commons Collections (ACC) library. Attackers can send a crafted serialized Java object to the ePO server, leading to remote code execution without authentication. This is the well-known 'Apache Commons Collections' deserialization flaw that affected numerous Java applications in 2015.
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<= 4.6.9>= 5.0.0, <= 5.0.1>= 5.1.0, < 5.1.3>= 5.3.0, < 5.3.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
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 ePO versionCheck the installed ePolicy Orchestrator version by viewing the ePO console header or checking the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\ePolicy Orchestrator\InstalledVersion on the ePO serverAffected if The version falls within <= 4.6.9; >= 5.0.0 and <= 5.0.1; >= 5.1.0 and < 5.1.3; or >= 5.3.0 and < 5.3.1
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Locate Apache Commons Collections librarySearch for commons-collections*.jar files in the ePO installation directory, typically under \McAfee\ePolicy Orchestrator\Server\lib or within the deployed EAR/WAR filesAffected if The commons-collections library version is 3.2.1 or earlier, or the library is present without the vendor hotfix applied
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Verify ePO services are reachableCheck if the ePO application server ports (typically 8443 or 8447 for the console) are exposed to untrusted networks by reviewing firewall rules or listening servicesAffected if The ePO management interface is accessible from networks outside trusted internal IP ranges
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Confirm deserialization endpoint exposureReview the ePO server configuration for exposed JMX/RMI or other deserialization endpoints, typically found in the server.ini or startup scripts under the ePO installation directoryAffected if Deserialization endpoints are enabled and reachable without authentication
A user is affected if their ePO version matches the vulnerable ranges AND the Apache Commons Collections library is present without vendor hotfixes applied AND the ePO interface is network-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 data5.1.35.3.1
Apply the vendor-supplied hotfixes (1106041 for ePO 5.1.x and 5.3.x) or upgrade to supported versions. Alternatively, restrict network access to the ePO management interface to trusted internal IPs only as a compensating control.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8765 — 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-2015-8765 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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