CVE-2015-7501
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected systems by sending a maliciously crafted serialized Java object. It affects multiple Red Hat JBoss products and related platforms that use the vulnerable Apache Commons Collections library. Attackers can achieve remote code execution without authentication.
💻 Affected Systems
- Red Hat JBoss A-MQ
- BPM Suite (BPMS)
- BRMS
- Data Grid (JDG)
- Data Virtualization (JDV)
- Enterprise Application Platform
- Fuse
- Fuse Service Works (FSW)
- Operations Network (JBoss ON)
- Portal
- SOA Platform (SOA-P)
- Web Server (JWS)
- Red Hat OpenShift/xPAAS
- Red Hat Subscription Asset Manager
📦 What is this software?
Data Grid by Redhat
Jboss Enterprise Application Platform by Redhat
View all CVEs affecting Jboss Enterprise Application Platform →
Jboss Enterprise Application Platform by Redhat
View all CVEs affecting Jboss Enterprise Application Platform →
Jboss Enterprise Application Platform by Redhat
View all CVEs affecting Jboss Enterprise Application Platform →
Openshift by Redhat
Xpaas by Redhat
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with attacker gaining full control over the server, allowing data theft, lateral movement, and persistent backdoor installation.
Likely Case
Remote code execution leading to application compromise, data exfiltration, and potential ransomware deployment.
If Mitigated
Attack blocked at network perimeter or application firewall; no impact if proper input validation and deserialization controls are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Multiple public exploit tools and scripts exist for this vulnerability. The exploit is straightforward and requires minimal technical skill.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply patches from RHSA-2015-2500, RHSA-2015-2501, RHSA-2015-2502, RHSA-2015-2514, RHSA-2015-2516
Vendor Advisory: http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2500.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify affected JBoss products and versions. 2. Apply appropriate Red Hat security patches from the listed advisories. 3. Restart affected services. 4. Verify patch application and test functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Block Java deserialization
allConfigure application to reject serialized objects from untrusted sources
Configure ObjectInputStream filters or use serialization whitelists
Network segmentation
linuxRestrict access to vulnerable services using firewalls
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -s trusted_network -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 8080 -j DROP
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network access controls to limit exposure
- Deploy web application firewall with Java deserialization protection rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Apache Commons Collections library version 3.2.1 or earlier is present in classpath: find /path/to/jboss -name "commons-collections*.jar" -exec jar -tf {} \; | grep Implementation-VersionCheck Version:
rpm -qa | grep -E "(jboss|fuse|amq|bpms|brms|jdg|jdv|openshift)"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify commons-collections library version is 3.2.2 or higher, or check that Red Hat patches are applied via rpm -qa | grep -i jboss📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Java deserialization errors in application logs
- Unexpected process execution
- Outbound connections from Java processes
Network Indicators:
- HTTP POST requests with serialized Java objects to JBoss endpoints
- Unusual traffic to Java RMI or JMX ports
SIEM Query:
source="jboss.log" AND ("InvokerTransformer" OR "TransformedMap" OR "java.lang.Runtime.exec")🔗 References
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2500.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2501.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2502.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2514.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2516.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2517.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2521.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2522.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2524.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2670.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2671.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0040.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1773.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2018-4258247.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2018-4428296.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/78215
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034097
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037052
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037053
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037640
- https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/2059393
- https://access.redhat.com/solutions/2045023
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1279330
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2536.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240216-0010/
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2500.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2501.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2502.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2514.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2516.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2517.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2521.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2522.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2524.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2670.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2671.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-0040.html
- http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1773.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuapr2018-3678067.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujan2018-3236628.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpujul2018-4258247.html
- http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/security-advisory/cpuoct2018-4428296.html
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/78215
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034097
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037052
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037053
- http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037640
- https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/2059393
- https://access.redhat.com/solutions/2045023
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1279330
- https://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2015-2536.html
- https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240216-0010/
- https://www.oracle.com/security-alerts/cpujul2020.html
