Is CVE-2015-5237 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2015-5237 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2015-5237?

High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 13 May 2022.

Which products and versions are affected?

github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0; Google Protobuf < 3.4.0; com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0; protobuf (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.1.0.post1, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0.

Is there a fix for CVE-2015-5237?

Yes. github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; protobuf (PyPI): upgrade to 3.1.0.post1, 3.4.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2015-5237 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

Am I affected by CVE-2015-5237?

Check whether you run github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go), Google Protobuf, com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven) or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2015-5237: Google Protobuf heap buffer overflow

Q: Is there a fix for CVE-2015-5237?

Yes. github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; protobuf (PyPI): upgrade to 3.1.0.post1, 3.4.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

Q: How is CVE-2015-5237 attacked?

It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

Q: Am I affected by CVE-2015-5237?

Check whether you run github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go), Google Protobuf, com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven) or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2015-5237 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2022-05-13

Google Protobuf, a widely used library for serializing structured data, is vulnerable to a memory corruption issue. An authenticated attacker could exploit this flaw to cause a system crash or potentially execute unauthorized commands. This could lead to service outages or the compromise of sensitive data in applications that rely on this library.

Technologies: Google Protobuf, protobuf (PyPI). Vendors: Go, Google, Maven, PyPI.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2015-5237 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2015-5237 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2015-5237?: High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 13 May 2022.
Which products and versions are affected?: github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go) SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0; Google Protobuf < 3.4.0; com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0; protobuf (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.1.0.post1, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=3.4.0.
Is there a fix for CVE-2015-5237?: Yes. github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later; protobuf (PyPI): upgrade to 3.1.0.post1, 3.4.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2015-5237 attacked?: It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2015-5237?: Check whether you run github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go), Google Protobuf, com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven) or one of the others listed at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf (Go): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later
```
go get github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf@v3.4.0
```

com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent (Maven): upgrade to 3.4.0 or later

# set com.google.protobuf:protobuf-parent to 3.4.0 in your pom.xml or build.gradle

protobuf (PyPI): upgrade to 3.1.0.post1, 3.4.0 or later
```
pip install "protobuf>=3.4.0"
```

Technical details

A heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability (CWE-787) exists in Google Protobuf versions prior to 3.4.0. The flaw allows a remote authenticated attacker to trigger an out-of-bounds write by sending crafted input to an application utilizing the library. This can result in a denial-of-service (DoS) condition or potentially arbitrary code execution on the host system. The vulnerability affects multiple language implementations including C++, Java, Python, and Go. Users are advised to upgrade to version 3.4.0 or later to remediate the issue.

Affected products

Google Google.Protobuf < 3.4.0
Google protobuf < 3.4.0

Identifiers

CVE-2015-5237
GHSA-jwvw-v7c5-m82h
PYSEC-2017-150
PYSEC-2017-65

Timeline

2015-08-27: disclosed: Initial public disclosure via oss-security mailing list
2017-08-15: patched: Version 3.4.0 released fixing the issue
2022-05-13: advisory: GitHub Advisory published

References

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