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CVE-2015-3245

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60...

2.1 LowPublic exploitFix available

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Exploit likelihood

5.39%Up 4.1 points since Feb 4, 2022
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

NVD Score used 2.1

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
CVE-2015-3245
CVSS 2.0
2.1 LowAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
CVE List No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
CVE-2015-3245
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2015-3300 No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
EUVD-2015-3300
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-q4h8-6f3r-mvww No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60...

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
GHSA-q4h8-6f3r-mvww
Weakness
CWE-20
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
CVE-2015-3245
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVDEBIAN-CVE-2015-3245 No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
DEBIAN-CVE-2015-3245
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVMGASA-2015-0278 No score

Updated libuser package fixes security vulnerabilities

Two flaws were found in the way the libuser library handled the /etc/passwd file. A local attacker could use an application compiled against libuser (for example, userhelper) to manipulate the /etc/passwd file, which could result in a denial of service or possibly allow the attacker to escalate their privileges to root (CVE-2015-3245, CVE-2015-3246).

Record
MGASA-2015-0278
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2015-3245 No score

Incomplete blacklist vulnerability in the chfn function in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, allows local users to cause a denial of service (/etc/passwd corruption) via a newline character in the GECOS field.

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2015-3245
Updated
2026-11-04
OSVUSN-8987-1 No score

libuser vulnerabilities

It was discovered that libuser did not properly validate the GECOS field when changing user information. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to corrupt the passwd file, resulting in a denial of service. (CVE-2015-3245)

It was discovered that libuser modified the passwd file in place when updating user information. A local attacker could possibly use this issue to cause an inconsistent file state, resulting in a denial of service, or possibly escalate privileges. (CVE-2015-3246)

Record
USN-8987-1
Updated
2026-11-04

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libuser
Debian:12
 before 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
libuser
Debian:13
 before 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
libuser
Debian:14
 before 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
1:0.62~dfsg-0.1
libuser
Debian:7
 before 1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2+deb7u1, plus listed versions
1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2
1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2+deb7u1
libuser
Mageia:4
 before 0.60-2.1.mga4
0.60-2.1.mga4
libuser
Mageia:5
 before 0.60-5.1.mga5
0.60-5.1.mga5
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::client
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
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Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::computenode
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::server
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:6::workstation
 before 0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
0:0.56.13-8.el6_7
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::client
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::computenode
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
 before 0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
 before 0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
 before 0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::server
 before 0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
0:0.60-7.ael7b_1
libuser
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-debuginfo
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-python
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser-devel
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:7::workstation
 before 0:0.60-7.el7_1
0:0.60-7.el7_1
libuser
Ubuntu:Pro:14.04:LTS
 before 1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2ubuntu2+esm1, plus listed versions
1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2ubuntu2
1:0.56.9.dfsg.1-1.2ubuntu2+esm1
libuser
Ubuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS
 before 1:0.60~dfsg-1.2ubuntu0.1~esm1, plus listed versions
1:0.60~dfsg-1.2
1:0.60~dfsg-1.2ubuntu0.1~esm1
libuser
Ubuntu:25.10
 All versions, plus listed versions
1:0.64+git20241106~dfsg-21:0.64+git20241106~dfsg-3
 None known

Public exploits

Links only. Every CVE stores no exploit code.

Public exploits
SourceLinkDate
MetasploitLibuser roothelper Privilege Escalation2015-07-24
Exploit-DBLibuser Library - Multiple Vulnerabilities2015-07-27
Exploit-DBLibuser - 'roothelper' Local Privilege Escalation (Metasploit)2018-05-16

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
affected, aliases, referencesOSV
affected, exploits, factsOSV
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, Exploit-DB, GitHub Advisories, Metasploit, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2015-3245 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 2.1) in Redhat Libuser, published July 24, 2015. Public exploit code exists. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 5.39%, the 92nd percentile. Fixed in libuser 1:0.62~dfsg-0.1.

References

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