CVE-2015-3246

Red Hat Libuser Race Condition

7.4 HIGHActively exploited (CISA KEV)Public exploitEPSS 8.43%

Published11 Aug 2015
Added to CISA KEV26 Aug 2026
Remediation due9 Sept 2026

Description

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.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorLocal

Attack complexityHigh

Privileges requiredNone

User interactionNone

ScopeUnchanged

ConfidentialityHigh

IntegrityHigh

AvailabilityHigh

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Libuser≥ 0.60 < 0.60-7 · < 0.56.13-8

Opensuse13.2

Redhat Enterprise Linux5.0 · 6.0 · 7.0

Remediation

Fixed in

Libuser≥ 0.60-7

Patch & vendor advisories

References

http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-August/163044.htmlBroken Link
http://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-July/162947.htmlBroken Link
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2015-08/msg00000.htmlMailing ListThird Party Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1482.htmlVendor Advisory
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-1483.htmlVendor Advisory
https://access.redhat.com/articles/1537873MitigationVendor Advisory
https://blog.talosintelligence.com/uat-10147-chinese-speaking-adversary-integrates-agentic-ai-into-post-compromise-operations/Third Party Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2015-3246US Government Resource
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44633/Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://www.qualys.com/2015/07/23/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246/cve-2015-3245-cve-2015-3246.txtExploit

and 2 more references

Related CVEs

Recent high-severity vulnerabilities sharing a weakness type.

Frequently asked

Is CVE-2015-3246 being actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2015-3246 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added 26 Aug 2026.

How severe is CVE-2015-3246?

CVE-2015-3246 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4, rated high. EPSS estimates a 8.43% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2015-3246?

Affected products include Libuser, Opensuse, Redhat Enterprise Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2015-3246?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Libuser 0.60-7 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2015-3246 against the real software inventory on every managed device, every day. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. Because it is on the CISA KEV list, Secuno flags any affected asset as top-priority automatically. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.