# CVE-2015-5287: Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool Privilege Escalation

> Local attackers can gain privileges via symlink attacks on predictable filenames in the ABRT coredump handler.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Yes, since 26 Aug 2026 (CISA KEV)
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 7 Dec 2015
- **Updated:** 27 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hf8c-7p7w-mch5

## What is CVE-2015-5287?

CVE-2015-5287 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Oracle Linux, published on 7 Dec 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The abrt-hook-ccpp help program in Automatic Bug Reporting Tool (ABRT) before 2.7.1 allows local users with certain permissions to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file with a predictable name, as demonstrated by /var/tmp/abrt/abrt-hax-coredump or /var/spool/abrt/abrt-hax-coredump.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2015-5287?

It affects 7 products.


Products: Oracle Linux, Redhat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool, Redhat Enterprise Linux, Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Redhat Enterprise Linux Hpc Node, Redhat Enterprise Linux Server, Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation.

## How do I fix CVE-2015-5287?

Upgrade to a fixed version. US federal agencies must fix it by 9 Sep 2026.

## Is CVE-2015-5287 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2015-5287 in the wild since at least 26 Aug 2026.

Public exploit code:

- ABRT sosreport Privilege Escalation (metasploit)
- RHEL 7.0/7.1 - 'abrt/sosreport' Local Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)
- abrt (Centos 7.1 / Fedora 22) - Local Privilege Escalation (exploitdb)
- ABRT - sosreport Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) (exploitdb)
- ABRT - sosreport Privilege Escalation (Metasploit) (exploitdb)
- CVE-2015-5287 (github_poc): https://github.com/HORKimhab/CVE-2015-5287

## Other vulnerabilities in Oracle Linux

- [CVE-2016-5408](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5408/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1714](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1714/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2015-3812](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-3812/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2015-2328](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2328/): Denial of service in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2015-8385](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8385/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2015-5287 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2015-5287 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Oracle Linux, published on 7 Dec 2015. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2015-5287 in the wild since at least 26 Aug 2026.

Affected product: Oracle Linux. 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-2015-5287/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5287/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-5287
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5287
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2015-5287

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-5287/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.