cbcvebase.
CVE-2015-3306
published 2015-05-18

CVE-2015-3306: The mod_copy module in ProFTPD 1.3.5 allows remote attackers to read and write to arbitrary files via the site cpfr and site cpto commands.

PriorityP1100critical10CVSS 3.1
AVNACLPRNUINSCCHIHAH
KEVITWEXPLOITInitial access
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilitydue 2026-10-11
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
99.50%
99.9th percentile
The mod_copy module in ProFTPD 1.3.5 allows remote attackers to read and write to arbitrary files via the site cpfr and site cpto commands.

Affected

15 ranges
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
debiandebian_linux——
debiandebian_linux——
debiandebian_linux——
debiandebian_linux——
debianproftpd-dfsg< proftpd-dfsg 1.3.5-2 (bookworm)proftpd-dfsg 1.3.5-2 (bookworm)
debianproftpd-dfsg< proftpd-dfsg 1.3.6-6 (bookworm)proftpd-dfsg 1.3.6-6 (bookworm)
fedoraprojectfedora——
fedoraprojectfedora——
fedoraprojectfedora——
fedoraprojectfedora——
fedoraprojectfedora——
proftpdproftpd<= 1.3.5b—
proftpdproftpd——
siemenssimatic_cp_1543-1_firmware>= 2.0 < 2.22.2
suselinux_enterprise_server——

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

commandSITE CPFR /proc/self/cmdline↗
commandSITE CPTO /tmp/.<random>
commandSITE CPFR /proc/self/fd/3↗
commandSITE CPTO /var/www/html/test.php↗
commandSITE CPFR /etc/passwd↗
path/proc/self/cmdline↗
path/var/www/html/test.php↗
yara
words: ["Copy successful"]
  • →Detect unauthenticated SITE CPFR / SITE CPTO FTP command sequences — the exploit chain requires no authentication and uses these two commands to stage and drop a PHP webshell. ↗
  • →Alert on FTP sessions that issue SITE CPFR targeting /proc/self/cmdline or /proc/self/fd/3 — these are the specific proc paths used to smuggle a PHP payload. ↗
  • →Alert on FTP sessions that issue SITE CPTO to web-accessible directories (e.g. /var/www) with a .php extension — this is the final step that enables HTTP-triggered RCE. ↗
  • →Check FTP server response for '350' to SITE CPFR /etc/passwd as a vulnerability-check indicator — the Metasploit module uses this response to confirm exploitability. ↗
  • →Monitor HTTP requests to randomly-named .php files in the web root immediately following an FTP session — the exploit executes the dropped payload via a GET request. ↗
  • →Look for the string 'Copy successful' in FTP server responses as a network-level indicator that a SITE CPFR/CPTO operation completed successfully.
  • ·Anonymous FTP access is disabled by default when installing ProFTPD via APT or YUM, but is ENABLED by default in source installs from proftpd.org — source-installed servers are exploitable without any credentials. ↗
  • ·The mod_copy module (which contains the vulnerable SITE CPFR/CPTO commands) was not included in default ProFTPD installations until version 1.3.4 — earlier versions are not affected. ↗
  • ·The ProFTPD service runs as 'nobody' by default, meaning copied files and executed payloads inherit those low privileges — but this is still sufficient for webshell deployment if the web directory is world-writable. ↗

CVSS provenance

nvdv3.110.0CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvdv2.010.0CRITICALAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
osv10.0CRITICAL
vulncheck10.0CRITICAL
cisa10.0CRITICAL
vendor_debian10.0LOW
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