CVE-2015-5287: Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool

Should you act?

Exploited: patch now if you run it

CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

Yes, if you run Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool. CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-08-26, which means there is reliable evidence of exploitation in the wild. US federal agencies must remediate by 2026-09-09; treat that as the outer limit, not the target.
EPSS 5.0%, percentile 92: FIRST’s model estimates a 5.0% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 92% of all scored CVEs (elevated). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
Needs local access needed. Lower urgency for most teams unless an attacker could already run code on the machine.
Editorial verdict: Most can relax. ABRT CVE-2015-5287: 2015 RHEL 7 Local Root Bug Now in KEV — This is a ten-year-old local root bug that any RHEL 7 or CentOS 7 host updated since late 2015 already has fixed; the KEV listing matters only for forgotten, never-patched machines, and those have bigger problems.

What it is

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.

CISA’s summary

Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool (ABRT) contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that could allow local users with certain permissions to gain privileges via a symlink attack on a file with a predictable name. The impacted product(s) could be end-of-life (EoL) and/or end-of-service (EoS). Users are advised to discontinue use and/or transition to a supported version.

Weakness type: CWE-59.

Product: Red Hat Automatic Bug Reporting Tool · Assigned by: redhat · Published: 2015-12-07

Affected and fixed versions

Vendor	Product	Affected versions (per CVE record)
n/a	n/a	see vendor advisory

Severity scores

Scored by	CVSS	Score	Vector
CISA-ADP	3.1	7.8 High	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`

Attack vector: local access needed
Attack complexity: low
Privileges required: low (any account)
User interaction: none
Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

CISA KEV: added 2026-08-26; federal due date 2026-09-09. Known ransomware use: Unknown.
CISA required action: 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.
CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 5.00% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 92.

Timeline

2015-11-23 — erroneo.us brief: ABRT CVE-2015-5287: 2015 RHEL 7 Local Root Bug Now in KEV
2015-12-07 — CVE record published by redhat
2026-08-26 — Added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
2026-08-27 — CVE record last updated
2026-09-09 — CISA remediation deadline for US federal agencies

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Should you act?

What it is

CISA’s summary

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

Exploitation and urgency

Timeline

Sources and references

Vendor and project advisories, patches

Vulnerability records

Government

Other references from the CVE record and advisory