How severe is CVE-2015-3256?

CVE-2015-3256 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.6, rated medium severity.

Is CVE-2015-3256 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (27th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2015-3256?

CVE-2015-3256 primarily affects Polkit Project Polkit. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2015-3256?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.

When was CVE-2015-3256 published?

CVE-2015-3256 was published on 2015-10-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2015-3256

CVE-2015-3256 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Polkit Project Polkit with a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.6. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-264.

Key facts

Severity: Medium (CVSS 2.0 base score 4.6)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (27th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-264
Affected product: Polkit Project Polkit
Published: 2015-10-26
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

PolicyKit (aka polkit) before 0.113 allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and polkitd daemon crash) and possibly gain privileges via unspecified vectors, related to "javascript rule evaluation."

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2015-3256?: PolicyKit (aka polkit) before 0.113 allows local users to cause a denial of service (memory corruption and polkitd daemon crash) and possibly gain privileges via unspecified vectors, related to "javascript rule evaluation."
How severe is CVE-2015-3256?: CVE-2015-3256 has a CVSS 2.0 base score of 4.6, rated medium severity.
Is CVE-2015-3256 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (27th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2015-3256?: CVE-2015-3256 primarily affects Polkit Project Polkit. In total, 3 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2015-3256?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround.
When was CVE-2015-3256 published?: CVE-2015-3256 was published on 2015-10-26 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (3)

cpe:2.3:a:polkit_project:polkit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Polkit Project Polkit

CVE-2018-19788 — High (CVSS 8.8): A flaw was found in PolicyKit (aka polkit) 0.115 that allows a user with a uid greater than INT_MAX to successfully…
CVE-2021-3560 — High (CVSS 7.8): It was found that polkit could be tricked into bypassing the credential checks for D-Bus requests, elevating the…
CVE-2021-4034 — High (CVSS 7.8): A local privilege escalation vulnerability was found on polkit's pkexec utility. The pkexec application is a setuid…
CVE-2013-4288 — High (CVSS 7.2): Race condition in PolicyKit (aka polkit) allows local users to bypass intended PolicyKit restrictions and gain…
CVE-2019-6133 — Medium (CVSS 6.7): In PolicyKit (aka polkit) 0.115, the "start time" protection mechanism can be bypassed because fork() is not atomic,…
CVE-2021-4115 — Medium (CVSS 5.5): There is a flaw in polkit which can allow an unprivileged user to cause polkit to crash, due to process file descriptor…

All CVEs affecting Polkit Project Polkit →

Other CWE-264 (Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls) vulnerabilities

CVE-2016-8363 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An issue was discovered in Moxa OnCell OnCellG3470A-LTE, AWK-1131A/3131A/4131A Series, AWK-3191 Series, AWK-5232/6232…
CVE-2016-7457 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): VMware vRealize Operations (aka vROps) 6.x before 6.4.0 allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges, or halt…
CVE-2015-7425 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The Data Protection component in the VMware vSphere GUI in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments: Data…
CVE-2015-8267 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The PasswordReset.Controllers.ResetController.ChangePasswordIndex method in PasswordReset.dll in Dovestones AD Self…
CVE-2015-7919 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): SearchBlox 8.3 before 8.3.1 allows remote attackers to write to the config file, and consequently cause a denial of…
CVE-2015-7071 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): The File Bookmark component in Apple OS X before 10.11.2 allows attackers to bypass a sandbox protection mechanism for…

Browse all CWE-264 (Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls) vulnerabilities →