RCE in Xdebug
CVE-2015-10141
An unauthenticated OS command injection vulnerability exists within Xdebug versions 2.5.5 and earlier, a PHP debugging extension developed by Derick Rethans. When remote debugging is enabled, Xdebug listens on port 9000 and accepts debugger protocol commands without authentication. An attacker can send a crafted eval command over this interface to execute arbitrary PHP code, which may invoke system-level functions such as system() or passthru(). This results in full compromise of the host under the privileges of the web server user.
Vulnerability class: Command Injection (OS Command Injection)
Published · last modified .
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.074 (94.2th percentile), scored .
Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 94th percentile — 94.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.051 · newest: 0.074 · change: +0.023
Affected products
- Xdebug — versions 0
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- xdebug.org/ (product)
- kirtixs.com/blog/2015/11/13/xpwn-exploiting-xdebug-enabled-servers/ (technical-description)
- web.archive.org/web/20231226215418/https://paper.seebug.org/397/ (technical-description)
- www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44568 (exploit)
- www.fortiguard.com/encyclopedia/ips/46000 (third-party-advisory)
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/xdebug-remote-debugger-unauth-os-command-execution (third-party-advisory)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2015-10141?
- CVE-2015-10141 is a vulnerability in Xdebug, classified under OS Command Injection. Published 2025-07-23.
- Is CVE-2015-10141 known to be exploited?
- 8 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.