{"id":"CVE-2015-5243","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2015-5243","generatedAt":"2026-10-27T22:05:43.155Z","title":"phpWhois allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted whois record.","description":"phpWhois allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted whois record.","published":"2018-08-20T21:29:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-06-17T00:28:45.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"secalert@redhat.com","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-94"],"affected":["phpwhois project/phpwhois"],"epss":{"score":0.06195,"percentile":0.93456,"date":"2026-10-26","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"high","text":"High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (6.19%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://blog.nettitude.com/uk/cve-2015-5243-phpwhois-remote-code-execution","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://github.com/Gemorroj/phpwhois/commit/91c937e03c876ba1290b6de2a3ad953d2105fdd0","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://github.com/jsmitty12/phpWhois/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md","tags":["Release Notes","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://github.com/jsmitty12/phpWhois/issues/19","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://github.com/sbaresearch/advisories/tree/public/2018/SBA-ADV-20180425-01_phpWhois_Code_Execution","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://github.com/sparc/phpWhois.org/commit/5cc572490c9053d46598ec9348a11e36a5a33a46#diff-f150ae17da7341bf6c2eff928684b3a3","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://blog.nettitude.com/uk/cve-2015-5243-phpwhois-remote-code-execution","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/Gemorroj/phpwhois/commit/91c937e03c876ba1290b6de2a3ad953d2105fdd0","tags":["Patch","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/jsmitty12/phpWhois/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md","tags":["Release Notes","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/jsmitty12/phpWhois/issues/19","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/sbaresearch/advisories/tree/public/2018/SBA-ADV-20180425-01_phpWhois_Code_Execution","tags":["Exploit","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://github.com/sparc/phpWhois.org/commit/5cc572490c9053d46598ec9348a11e36a5a33a46#diff-f150ae17da7341bf6c2eff928684b3a3","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2015-5243","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}