How severe is CVE-2015-7611?

CVE-2015-7611 has a CVSS score of 8.1/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2015-7611?

CVE-2015-7611 affects the following packages: org.apache.james:james-server (Maven). Ecosystems affected: Maven.

How do I fix CVE-2015-7611?

Update org.apache.james:james-server to 2.3.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2015-7611 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2015-7611 in my Maven dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.james:james-server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2015-7611 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Is CVE-2015-7611 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2015-7611, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2015-7611?

CVE-2015-7611 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 68.6%, placing it in the 99th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2015-7611?

CVE-2015-7611 is classified as OS Command Injection (CWE-78). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2015-7611 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2015-7611 was published on May 14, 2022 and was last updated on November 8, 2023. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

☕

☕ Maven

Not in CISA KEV

HIGH severity

CVE-2015-7611 — james-server

HIGH

CVE-2015-7611 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) OS Command Injection vulnerability in org.apache.james:james-server. 2 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for org.apache.james:james-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Apache James Server OS Command Injection

Published

May 14, 2022

Updated

Nov 8, 2023

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Nov 5, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

68.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs99th percentile — riskier than 99% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected

☕org.apache.james:james-server

Real-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

Apache James Server 2.3.2, when configured with file-based user repositories, allows attackers to execute arbitrary system commands via unspecified vectors.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
☕Maven	`org.apache.james:james-server`	all versions	2.3.2.1`org.apache.james:james-server:2.3.2.1`

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

james serverapache

1 version

2.3.2

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-48130remotelinux✓ Verified

Apache James Server 2.3.2 - Insecure User Creation Arbitrary File Write (Metasploit)

by Metasploit · Feb 24, 2020

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for org.apache.james:james-server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update org.apache.james:james-server to 2.3.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2015-7611 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop passing untrusted input into the interpreter or shell: call the affected binary with an argument array rather than a composed command string, reject anything outside a strict allowlist of expected values, and run the component under an account that cannot reach beyond the work it legitimately does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apache James Server 2.3.2, when configured with file-based user repositories, allows attackers to execute arbitrary system commands via unspecified vectors.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2015-7611 in your dependencies?

Find it across Maven, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

8.1/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE Classification

CWE-78OS Command Injection

Weaponization

No Nuclei template or Metasploit module yet. 2 public proof-of-concept references are listed on this page.

Timeline

First exploit

Feb 24, 2020

Disclosed

May 14, 2022

Last updated

Nov 8, 2023

Identifiers

CVE-2015-7611

References

Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2015 7611 Webblogs.apache.org · apache james server 2 3 Webweb.archive.org · threaded Webpacketstormsecurity.com · Apache James Server 2.3.2 Arbitrary Command Execution Webpacketstormsecurity.com · Apache James Server 2.3.2 Insecure User Creation Arbitrary File Write Webopenwall.com Webopenwall.com

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is high severity; 4 of 8 other CVEs affecting james-server are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2023-51747CVE-2023-51518CVE-2022-45935CVE-2022-28220CVE-2004-2650CVE-2022-22931CVE-2021-40525CVE-2021-38542

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedNov 8, 2023

CVE-2015-7611 — james-server

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

Description

Affected Packages

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2015-7611 in your dependencies?