How severe is CVE-2015-4642?

CVE-2015-4642 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2015-4642 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2015-4642?

CVE-2015-4642 primarily affects Php. In total, 37 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.

How do I fix CVE-2015-4642?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

When was CVE-2015-4642 published?

CVE-2015-4642 was published on 2016-05-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2015-4642

CVE-2015-4642 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Php with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8. 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-78.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.8)
CVSS v2: 10.0
EPSS exploit prediction: 6% (92nd percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
Weakness: CWE-78
Affected product: Php
Published: 2016-05-16
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

The escapeshellarg function in ext/standard/exec.c in PHP before 5.4.42, 5.5.x before 5.5.26, and 5.6.x before 5.6.10 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted string to an application that accepts command-line arguments for a call to the PHP system function.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2015-4642?: The escapeshellarg function in ext/standard/exec.c in PHP before 5.4.42, 5.5.x before 5.5.26, and 5.6.x before 5.6.10 on Windows allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via a crafted string to an application that accepts command-line arguments for a call to the PHP system function.
How severe is CVE-2015-4642?: CVE-2015-4642 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.8, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires no privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2015-4642 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 6% (92nd percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2015-4642?: CVE-2015-4642 primarily affects Php. In total, 37 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2015-4642?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2015-4642 published?: CVE-2015-4642 was published on 2016-05-16 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (37)

cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.19:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.20:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.21:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.22:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.23:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.24:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.5.25:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.6.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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Other CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities

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CVE-2026-49869 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): Kestra is an open-source, event-driven orchestration platform. Prior to 1.0.45 and 1.3.21, AuthenticationFilter in…
CVE-2026-49261 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): MariaDB server is a community developed fork of MySQL server. Versions 10.6.1 through 10.6.26, 10.11.1 through…
CVE-2026-10520 — Critical (CVSS 10.0): An OS Command Injection vulnerability in Ivanti Sentry before the R10.5.2, R10.6.2 and R10.7.1 versions allows a…

Browse all CWE-78 (OS Command Injection) vulnerabilities →

Threat intelligence

Threat-intel indicators referencing this CVE:

45.84.120.3 (ipv4-addr)
221.161.235.168 (ipv4-addr)
200.196.50.91 (ipv4-addr)
187.141.71.166 (ipv4-addr)
187.110.238.50 (ipv4-addr)
113.164.66.10 (ipv4-addr)
103.38.219.22 (ipv4-addr)
103.20.122.54 (ipv4-addr)