CVE-2015-7755
Juniper ScreenOS 6.2.0r15 through 6.2.0r18, 6.3.0r12 before 6.3.0r12b, 6.3.0r13 before 6.3.0r13b, 6.3.0r14 before 6.3.0r14b, 6.3.0r15 before 6.3.0r15b, 6.3.0r16 before 6.3.0r16b, 6.3.0r17 before 6.3.0r17b, 6.3.0r18 before 6.3.0r18b, 6.3.0r19 before 6.3.0r19b, and 6.3.0r20 before 6.3.0r21 allows remote attackers to obtain administrative access by entering an unspecified password during a (1) SSH or (2) TELNET session.
do firstApply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Can a WAF block it? No. The attack occurs by entering a password during SSH or TELNET sessions, which are non-HTTP protocols. Such authentication bypass attempts look like normal login attempts, so a web application firewall cannot reliably distinguish or block them.
Also consider: patch · add auth middleware
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Is CVE-2015-7755 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2015-7755 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2015-7755?
CVE-2015-7755 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2015-7755?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2015-7755. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2015-7755 affect?
CVE-2015-7755 affects juniper:screenos. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
public exploits
Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 1 Metasploit module · 2 GitHub proofs of concept
- auxiliary/scanner/ssh/juniper_backdoor · auxiliary · normal
- hdm/juniper-cve-2015-7755 · 105 ★
- cinno/CVE-2015-7755-POC · 2 ★
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
cisa ssvc
- exploitation
- active
- automatable
- yes
- technical impact
- total
Assessed by CISA 2 Oct 2025 (SSVC 2.0.3).
timeline
- 18 Dec 2015First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)
- 19 Dec 2015Published · 2 days later
- 2 Oct 2025Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild) · 3,574 days (about 10 years) later
- 2 Oct 2025CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active · same day later
- 21 Oct 2025CVE record last updated · 20 days later
- 23 Oct 2025CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies) · 1 day later
- 2 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com · 376 days (about 1 year) later
- Advisorykb.cert.org /vuls/id/640184
- Linkarstechnica.com /security/2015/12/unauthorized-code-in-juniper-firewalls-decrypts-encrypted-vpn-
- Linkwired.com /2015/12/juniper-networks-hidden-backdoors-show-the-risk-of-government-backdoors
- Linksecuritytracker.com /id/1034489
- Linkforums.juniper.net /t5/Security-Incident-Response/Important-Announcement-about-ScreenOS/ba-p/285554
- Linkgithub.com /hdm/juniper-cve-2015-7755
- Linkkb.juniper.net /InfoCenter/index?page=content&id=JSA10713
- Linktwitter.com /cryptoron/statuses/677900647560253442
Show 4 more
- Linkadamcaudill.com /2015/12/17/much-ado-about-juniper/
- Linkforbes.com /sites/thomasbrewster/2015/12/18/juniper-says-it-didnt-work-with-government-to-a
- Linksecurityfocus.com /bid/79626
- Linkcisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2015-7755
sources
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
- Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.