# CVE-2015-4216: Hardcoded credentials in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass authentication and gain root access on Cisco security appliances due to a shared default SSH key.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Jun 2015
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-775r-5j4x-p42j

## What is CVE-2015-4216?

CVE-2015-4216 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Jun 2015. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The remote-support feature on Cisco Web Security Virtual Appliance (WSAv), Email Security Virtual Appliance (ESAv), and Security Management Virtual Appliance (SMAv) devices before 2015-06-25 uses the same default SSH root authorized key across different customers' installations, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass authentication by leveraging knowledge of a private key from another installation, aka Bug IDs CSCuu95988, CSCuu95994, and CSCuu96630.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-4216?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Cisco Content Security Management Virtual Appliance, Cisco Email Security Virtual Appliance, Cisco Web Security Virtual Appliance.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-4216?

No fix has been published for CVE-2015-4216 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2015-4216 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4216 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2015-0732](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-0732/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2015-4217](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4217/): Weak cryptography in n/a (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-4216 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-4216 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 26 Jun 2015. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2015-4216 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4216/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4216/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-4216
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-4216
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-4216

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-4216/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.