CVE-2015-3246Known exploitationPublic exploit

Local service interruption via direct password-file modification

Published Aug 11, 2015 · Updated Aug 27, 2026

Race condition in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7 allows local users to interrupt services via /etc/passwd corruption. The generic_mod function rewrites /etc/passwd in place; an RLIMIT_FSIZE-induced write failure can interrupt the operation and leave inconsistent contents. Exploitation requires a local account listed in /etc/passwd and its password; alone the flaw disrupts account-dependent services, while a chain with CVE-2015-3245 grants root access.

CVSS severity6.8
Medium
EPSS probability8.80%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7 allows local users to interrupt services via /etc/passwd corruption. The generic_mod function rewrites /etc/passwd in place; an RLIMIT_FSIZE-induced write failure can interrupt the operation and leave inconsistent contents. Exploitation requires a local account listed in /etc/passwd and its password; alone the flaw disrupts account-dependent services, while a chain with CVE-2015-3245 grants root access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2015-3246
Published
Aug 11, 2015
Updated
Aug 27, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 11, 2015CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.2NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
6.8Red HatAV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C
5.1CISA ADP VulnrichmentCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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