CVE-2015-7501: Commons collections Deserialization Of Untrusted Data Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-fjq5-5j5f-mvxh
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2015-7501 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Commons collections libraries in the Maven ecosystem. The issue involves deserialization of untrusted data in apache commons collections. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.2.2, 4.1.

CVE-2015-7501 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2015-7501
GHSA Identifier GHSA-fjq5-5j5f-mvxh
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Commons collections
Package Ecosystem Maven
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2015-7501

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Commons collections dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

commons-collections:commons-collections fixed: 3.2.2 
<dependency>
    <groupId>commons-collections</groupId>
    <artifactId>commons-collections</artifactId>
    <version>3.2.2</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.commons:commons-collections4 fixed: 4.1 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
    <artifactId>commons-collections4</artifactId>
    <version>4.1</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.servicemix.bundles</groupId>
    <artifactId>org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
net.sourceforge.collections:collections-generic fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>net.sourceforge.collections</groupId>
    <artifactId>collections-generic</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic fixed: Latest secure release 
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.apache.servicemix.bundles</groupId>
    <artifactId>org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic</artifactId>
    <version>Latest secure release</version>
</dependency>
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=commons-collections

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Java application is affected by CVE-2015-7501, inspect your build dependencies using the Maven Dependency Plugin:

mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=commons-collections

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Commons collections in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.2.2), your application is affected.

Note: The mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=commons-collections command inspects the resolved dependency graph declared in your project's POM files; it does not perform automated security scanning or inspect runtime dynamic classpaths. Always verify runtime container classpaths and shaded JARs.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Commons collections, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

It was found that the Apache commons-collections library permitted code execution when deserializing objects involving a specially constructed chain of classes. A remote attacker could use this flaw to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the application using the commons-collections library.

CVE-2015-7501 Affected Commons collections Versions

5 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.2.24.1
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
commons-collections:commons-collections
maven/commons-collections/commons-collections
Maven
< 3.2.2
3.2.2
org.apache.commons:commons-collections4
maven/org.apache.commons/commons-collections4
Maven
< 4.1
4.1
org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections
maven/org.apache.servicemix.bundles/org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections
Maven
≥ 3.2.1
net.sourceforge.collections:collections-generic
maven/net.sourceforge.collections/collections-generic
Maven
4.01
All 1 versions
4.01
None specified
org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic
maven/org.apache.servicemix.bundles/org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic
Maven
≥ 4.01

References

NVD — CVE-2015-7501 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-7501
Commons collections Security Information SECURITY
https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/2059393
access.redhat.com/solutions/2045023 WEB
https://access.redhat.com/solutions/2045023
arxiv.org/pdf/2306.05534.pdf WEB
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.05534.pdf
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1279330
commons.apache.org/proper/commons-coll... WEB
https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-collections/release_4_1.html
Commons collections Security Information SECURITY
https://foxglovesecurity.com/2015/11/06/what-do-weblogic-websphere-jboss-jenkins-opennms-and-your-application-have-in-common-this-vulnerability
Commons collections Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/apache/commons-collections
Commons collections Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jensdietrich/xshady-release/tree/main/CVE-2015-7501
issues.apache.org/jira/browse/collect... WEB
https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/COLLECTIONS-580.
sourceforge.net/p/collections/code/... WEB
https://sourceforge.net/p/collections/code/HEAD/tree
rhn.redhat.com/errata/rhsa-2016-17... WEB
http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1773.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2015-7501?
CVE-2015-7501 is a security vulnerability in Commons collections involving Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache commons collections under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Commons collections versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.2.2, 4.1 across affected packages: commons-collections:commons-collections, org.apache.commons:commons-collections4, org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections, net.sourceforge.collections:collections-generic, org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic.
What version fixes CVE-2015-7501?
Upgrading to 3.2.2, 4.1 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is commons-collections affected?
Yes, commons-collections:commons-collections is affected in releases prior to 3.2.2. Upgrade your dependency to 3.2.2 or later.
Is commons-collections4 affected?
Yes, org.apache.commons:commons-collections4 is affected in releases prior to 4.1. Upgrade your dependency to 4.1 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2015-7501?
CVE-2015-7501 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2015-7501?
CVE-2015-7501 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Maven dependencies for CVE-2015-7501?
Run the dependency tree command: 'mvn dependency:tree -Dincludes=commons-collections'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-fjq5-5j5f-mvxh",
  "modified" : "2022-11-03T22:57:31Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:25:20Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2015-7501" ],
  "summary" : "Deserialization of Untrusted Data in Apache commons collections",
  "details" : "It was found that the Apache commons-collections library permitted code execution when deserializing objects involving a specially constructed chain of classes. A remote attacker could use this flaw to execute arbitrary code with the permissions of the application using the commons-collections library.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "commons-collections:commons-collections"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.2.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.commons:commons-collections4"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.1"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.commons-collections"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.2.1"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "< 3.2.2"
    }
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "net.sourceforge.collections:collections-generic"
    },
    "versions" : [ "4.01" ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Maven",
      "name" : "org.apache.servicemix.bundles:org.apache.servicemix.bundles.collections-generic"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.01"
      } ]
    } ],
    "database_specific" : {
      "last_known_affected_version_range" : "< 4.02"
    }
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-7501"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/security/vulnerabilities/2059393"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://access.redhat.com/solutions/2045023"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.05534.pdf"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1279330"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-collections/release_4_1.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://foxglovesecurity.com/2015/11/06/what-do-weblogic-websphere-jboss-jenkins-opennms-and-your-application-have-in-common-this-vulnerability"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/apache/commons-collections"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jensdietrich/xshady-release/tree/main/CVE-2015-7501"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/COLLECTIONS-580."
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://sourceforge.net/p/collections/code/HEAD/tree"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2016-1773.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-11-03T22:57:31Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2017-11-09T17:29:00Z"
  }
}