CVE-2015-8562
Joomla! 1.5.x, 2.x, and 3.x before 3.4.6 allow remote attackers to conduct PHP object injection attacks and execute arbitrary PHP code via the HTTP User-Agent header, as exploited in the wild in December 2015.
- CVSS
- 7.5High
- Exploited in the wild
- Not knownPublic exploit code; not in CISA KEV
- EPSS
- 98.2%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.1% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 16 Dec 2015analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
Products named in our analysis
- joomla:joomla\!
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? Partly. The bug can be reached over the network, so generic WAF rules may stop some attacks. Its weakness type is unknown, so we cannot be more precise.
Also consider: patch
Based on the weakness type only; no CVE-specific evidence yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Not listed as of our last sync.
- Public exploit code
- Yes: 2 on Exploit-DB · 1 Metasploit module · 11 GitHub proofs of concept · 1 Nuclei template
Exploit-DB
- Joomla! 1.5 < 3.4.6 - Object Injection 'x-forwarded-for' Header Remote Code Executionwebapps, 18 Dec 2015
- Joomla! 1.5 < 3.4.5 - Object Injection Remote Command Executionwebapps, 15 Dec 2015, verified by Exploit-DB
Metasploit
- exploit/multi/http/joomla_http_header_rceexploit, rank excellent
Nuclei
- Joomla HTTP Header Unauthenticated - Remote Code Executiondetection template, high
GitHub proofs of concept
- VoidSec/Joomla_CVE-2015-856212 stars
- ZaleHack/joomla_rce_CVE-2015-85628 stars
- dmonst3r/CVE-2015-85624 stars
- RobinHoutevelts/Joomla-CVE-2015-8562-PHP-POC2 stars
and 7 more repositories
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.
Timeline
- 15 Dec 2015First public exploit or proof of concept
- 16 Dec 2015Published2 days later
- 6 Aug 2024CVE record last updated3,155 days (about 9 years) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com828 days (about 2 years) later
CVSS vector
CVSS 2.0 · AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2015-8562 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2015-8562 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 98% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2015-8562?
CVE-2015-8562 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.5. 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-2015-8562?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2015-8562. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2015-8562 affect?
CVE-2015-8562 affects joomla:joomla\!. 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.
References
9 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Exploits (2)
- exploit-db.com /exploits/39033/
- exploit-db.com /exploits/38977/
Other links (7)
- securityfocus.com /archive/1/537219/100/0/threaded
- packetstormsecurity.com /files/135100/Joomla-3.4.5-Object-Injection.html
- packetstormsecurity.com /files/134949/Joomla-HTTP-Header-Unauthenticated-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- developer.joomla.org /security-centre/630-20151214-core-remote-code-execution-vulnerability.html
- securityfocus.com /bid/79195
- rapid7.com /db/modules/exploit/multi/http/joomla_http_header_rce
Show 1 more
- blog.sucuri.net /2015/12/remote-command-execution-vulnerability-in-joomla.html
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- Exploit-DB: published exploits
- Metasploit Framework: exploit and scanner modules
- Nuclei templates: detection templates
- 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.
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