CVE-2015-1796 — opensaml
CVE-2015-1796 is a CWE-254 vulnerability in org.opensaml:opensaml. A fix is available for org.opensaml:opensaml — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Improper Certificate Validation in Shibboleth Identity Provider and OpenSAML
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
org.opensaml:opensaml☕edu.internet2.middleware:shibboleth-identityproviderReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Maven packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The PKIX trust engines in Shibboleth Identity Provider before 2.4.4 and OpenSAML Java (OpenSAML-J) before 2.6.5 trust candidate X.509 credentials when no trusted names are available for the entityID, which allows remote attackers to impersonate an entity via a certificate issued by a shibmd:KeyAuthority trust anchor.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☕Maven | org.opensaml:opensaml | all versions | 2.6.5org.opensaml:opensaml:2.6.5 |
| ☕Maven | edu.internet2.middleware:shibboleth-identityprovider | all versions | 2.4.4edu.internet2.middleware:shibboleth-identityprovider:2.4.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.opensaml:opensaml, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.opensaml:opensaml to 2.6.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2015-1796 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2015-1796 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2015-1796. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2015-1796 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2015-1796 across Maven dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.