CVE-2015-4068
Path Traversal in Directory traversal vulnerability in Arcserve UDP before 5
Executive Summary
CVE-2015-4068 is a critical severity vulnerability affecting appsec. It is classified as Path Traversal. This vulnerability is actively being exploited in the wild.
Precogs AI Insight
"This exposure is a direct consequence of within Directory traversal vulnerability, allowing an architectural oversight in input validation. When targeted, an adversary might use this to bypass intended access controls, establishing a persistent foothold. The Precogs AI's Code Property Graph analysis traces untrusted input to alert security teams to imminent boundary violations."
What is this vulnerability?
CVE-2015-4068 is categorized as a critical Path Traversal flaw with a CVSS base score of 9.1. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.
Directory traversal vulnerability in Arcserve UDP before 5.0 Update 4 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information or cause a denial of service via a crafted file path to the (1) reportFileServlet or (2) exportServlet servlet.
This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.
Risk Assessment
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| CVSS Base Score | 9.1 (CRITICAL) |
| Vector String | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H |
| Published | May 29, 2015 |
| Last Modified | April 21, 2026 |
| Related CWEs | CWE-22, CWE-22 |
Impact on Systems
✅ Data Exfiltration: Attackers can extract sensitive data from backend databases, configuration files, or internal services.
✅ Authentication Bypass: Exploiting this flaw may allow unauthorized access to protected resources and administrative interfaces.
✅ Lateral Movement: Once initial access is gained, attackers can pivot to internal systems and escalate privileges.
How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2015-4068
- Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
- Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
- Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.
Defending with Precogs AI
Precogs AI Analysis Engine identifies this vulnerability class through semantic code analysis powered by Code Property Graph (CPG) technology, performing inter-procedural taint tracking to detect injection flaws, broken authentication, and insecure data flows across your entire codebase.
Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.
Vulnerability Code Signature
Attack Data Flow
| Stage | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | User-supplied filename or path parameter |
| Vector | Path manipulation using dot-dot-slash (../) sequences |
| Sink | File system read/write operation |
| Impact | Unauthorized access to sensitive files (e.g., /etc/passwd), directory traversal |
Vulnerable Code Pattern
// ❌ VULNERABLE: Unvalidated path resolution
public File getFile(String filename) {
String basePath = "/var/www/uploads/";
// Taint sink: permits directory traversal via "../"
return new File(basePath + filename);
}
Secure Code Pattern
// ✅ SECURE: Canonical path validation
public File getFile(String filename) throws IOException {
File baseDir = new File("/var/www/uploads/").getCanonicalFile();
File requestedFile = new File(baseDir, filename).getCanonicalFile();
// Sanitized boundary check
if (!requestedFile.getPath().startsWith(baseDir.getPath())) {
throw new SecurityException("Path traversal attempt detected");
}
return requestedFile;
}
How Precogs Detects This
Precogs AI Analysis Engine utilizes semantic taint tracking to detect insecure path resolution sinks, ensuring file access is strictly bounded.\n