CVE-2015-8833

Use-after-free vulnerability in the create_smp_dialog function in gtk-dialog.c in the Off-the-Record Messaging (OTR) pidgin-otr plugin before 4.0.2 for Pidgin allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to the "Authenticate buddy" menu item.

Published: 2016-04-12 Last update: 2026-05-06 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2015-8833 is rated High Risk (72.8/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 16.46%, 95th percentile). EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2015-8833

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-10-25 15.96% 16.46% +0.50%
2 2025-07-14 13.33% 15.96% +2.64%
3 2025-03-17 — 13.33% —

Full EPSS history (9 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2015-8833

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.0 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
10.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 10.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2015-8833

OS Trackers for CVE-2015-8833

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2015-8833 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (pidgin-otr), 4 status rows across 4 suites (bookworm, bullseye, sid, trixie): resolved 4. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2015-8833
gentoo normal CVE-2015-8833: 1 GLSA(s) (201701-10), 2 atom(s) (net-libs/libotr, x11-plugins/pidgin-otr); latest impact normal. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2015-8833
suse high CVE-2015-8833 severity important: SUSE including 10 source package names (pidgin-otr, pidgin-otr-4.0.0-11.6, …), 27 product×package rows across 18 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12, … (18 product lines)): Fixed 24, Known Not Affected 3. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2015-8833/
ubuntu medium CVE-2015-8833 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (pidgin-otr), 11 status rows across 11 suites (artful, bionic, cosmic, disco, precise, trusty, upstream, wily, xenial, yakkety, zesty): not-affected 7, released 2, DNE 1, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2015-8833

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2015-8833

Comment: <a href="http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html">CWE-416: Use After Free</a>

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2015-8833

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
cypherpunks pidgin-otr <= 4.0.1 cpe:2.3:a:cypherpunks:pidgin-otr:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2015-8833

cvelogic Threat Intelligence