CVE-2015-4642

The escapeshellarg function in ext/standard/exec.c in PHP before 5.4.42, 5.5.x before 5.5.26, and...

9.8 Critical

The escapeshellarg function in ext/standard/exec.c in PHP before 5.4.42, 5.5.x before 5.5.26, and 5.6.x before 5.6.10 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted string to an application that accepts command-line arguments for a call to the PHP system function.

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: None
User interaction: None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Exploit likelihood

6.00%Up 4.7 points since Feb 4, 2022

What each source reports

NVD Score used 9.8

Record: CVE-2015-4642
CVSS 3.0: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS 2.0: 10.0 HighAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Weakness: CWE-78
Updated: 2026-11-02

CVE List No score

Record: CVE-2015-4642
Updated: 2026-11-02

EUVDEUVD-2015-4661 No score

Record: EUVD-2015-4661
Updated: 2026-11-03

GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-2g3c-3p8m-g2p4 9.8

The escapeshellarg function in ext/standard/exec.c in PHP before 5.4.42, 5.5.x before 5.5.26, and...

Record: GHSA-2g3c-3p8m-g2p4
CVSS 3.0: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness: CWE-78
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVBELL-CVE-2015-4642 9.8

CVE-2015-4642 does not affect BellSoft software

Record: BELL-CVE-2015-4642
CVSS 3.0: 9.8 CriticalCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Updated: 2026-11-02

OSVMGASA-2015-0258 No score

Updated php package fixes security vulnerability

Incorrect handling of paths with NULs (CVE-2015-4598).

OS command injection vulnerability in escapeshellarg (CVE-2015-4642).

Integer overflow in ftp_genlist() resulting in heap overflow (CVE-2015-4643).

Segfault in php_pgsql_meta_data (CVE-2015-4644).

PHP has been updated to version 5.5.26, which fixes multiple bugs and potential security issues. Please see the upstream ChangeLog for details.

Record: MGASA-2015-0258
Updated: 2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
Package	Affected	Fixed
`php` Mageia:4 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs	before 5.5.26-1.mga4	5.5.26-1.mga4
`php-apc` Mageia:4 From an advisory covering 4 CVEs	before 3.1.15-4.16.mga4	3.1.15-4.16.mga4

History

History
Recorded	Changed	Sources
Nov 6, 2026	affected, facts
Nov 3, 2026	aliases	EUVD
Nov 2, 2026	first indexed	CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

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

In short

CVE-2015-4642 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) in Php, published July 5, 2015. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 6.00%, the 93rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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