CVE-2015-3306 — ProFTPD Improper Access Control Vulnerability

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

CISA required action CISA

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

US federal deadline: Oct 11, 2026 — passed 4 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Opensuse Tumbleweed…).
2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
4. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
5. EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
6. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (access control), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-284 · Improper Access Control

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 99.50%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

• Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
• Audit administrative actions and access to resources outside each user’s normal pattern.
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before Oct 8, 2026 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Affected products added · fedoraproject/fedora, debian/debian linux, opensuse/tumbleweed, suse/linux enterprise server, proftpd/proftpd
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• CVSS changed · 10.0
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  Oct 7, 2026 · CISA
• 2015
• CVE published
  May 18, 2015 · mitre

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

• 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
• 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

19 on the record

• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-May/157054.html
  Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/131505/ProFTPd-1.3.5-File-Copy.html
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.debian.org/security/2015/dsa-3263
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/131555/ProFTPd-1.3.5-Remote-Command-Execution.html
  Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36742
  GitHub Security Advisories
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/132218/ProFTPD-1.3.5-Mod_Copy-Command-Execution.html
  Exploit, VDB Entry, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36803
  GitHub Security Advisories
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-3306
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36742/
  Exploit, exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/162777/ProFTPd-1.3.5-Remote-Command-Execution.html
  Exploit, VDB Entry, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-May/157581.html
  Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-updates/2015-06/msg00020.html
  Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/74238
  Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/unix/ftp/proftpd_modcopy_exec
  Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-4mfj-5wr8-x32q
  GitHub Security Advisories
• lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/package-announce/2015-May/157053.html
  Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory, vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.exploit-db.com/exploits/36803/
  Exploit, exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• packetstormsecurity.com/files/131567/ProFTPd-CPFR-CPTO-Proof-Of-Concept.html
  Exploit, VDB Entry, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• Medium CVE-2026-104617 sdbootutil: qrencode invocation leaks PIN/recovery key in /proc/<pid>/cmdline 10h
• Medium CVE-2026-104618 sdbootutil: world-readable debug log 10h
• High CVE-2026-12996 A use-after-free in OpenVPN 2.6.0 through 2.6.20 and 2.7_alpha1 through 2.7.4 allows remote... Jul 30, 2026
• High CVE-2026-35025 ProFTPD ACL Bypass via /proc/self/root Path Prefix in RNFR Jun 24, 2026
• Medium CVE-2026-56968 Use of Uninitialized Resource in Gnu Sasl Jun 23, 2026
• Medium CVE-2026-54231 Abrt: unsanitized systemd journal content written to dump directory files enables content injection Jun 13, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

• No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
• No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
• No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
• No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2015-3306 is "ProFTPD Improper Access Control Vulnerability", rated Critical. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 10.0 describes technical severity. EPSS 99.50% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.