What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-3246?

CVE-2015-3246 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 21.4%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2015-3246?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2015-3246. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 21.4%.

Libuser CVE-2015-3246

HIGH

Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls (CWE-264)

2015-08-11 secalert@redhat.com

Privilege Escalation Denial Of Service Red Hat Libuser

7.4

CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: redhat

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-264 ASVS 5.0 V8 - Authorization Permission and access control MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 7.2 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity. Public proof-of-concept exploit code is available. EPSS exploitation probability: 21.42%.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%.

Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) No patch listed yet 21.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 21.4%.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-264. libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (inconsistent file state) by causing an error during the modification. NOTE: this issue can be combined with CVE-2015-3245 to gain privileges. Affected products include: Redhat Libuser. Version information: before 0.56.13.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

Vendor (redhat) PRIMARY 7.4 HIGH

AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (redhat) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: redhat

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Severity Changed

Oct 01, 2026 - 19:22 NVD

MEDIUM HIGH

CVSS changed

Oct 01, 2026 - 19:22 NVD

5.1 (MEDIUM) 7.4 (HIGH)

Severity Changed

Aug 26, 2026 - 18:23 NVD

HIGH MEDIUM

CVSS changed

Aug 26, 2026 - 18:23 NVD

7.2 (HIGH) 5.1 (MEDIUM)

Added to CISA KEV

Aug 26, 2026 - 17:47 CISA

CVE Published

Aug 11, 2015 - 14:59 cve.org

HIGH 7.2

DescriptionCVE.org

libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly modifies /etc/passwd, which allows local users to cause a denial of service (inconsistent file state) by causing an error during the modification. NOTE: this issue can be combined with CVE-2015-3245 to gain privileges.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score

5.1/10

Composite threat intelligence

EPSS Score

21.4%

Top 4% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

7 sources

Confidence: High

NVD

CVE.org

CISA KEV

EPSS POC (1)

Exploit-DB

VulDB

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV Yes

Public POC Yes

EPSS 21.4%

Patch available No

Active threat Yes

Deciding rule

HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Out-of-Cycle

Exploitation· derived

Active

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

High

Priority Score

143

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: +50

EPSS: +21

CVSS: +37

PoC: +20

Weaponized: +15

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Denial of Service MEDIUM

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.