CVE-2015-8562

EXPLOITED IN THE WILD NUCLEI LAB

Joomla! 1.5.x-3.4.5 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via HTTP User-Agent Header

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2015-8562 has been observed exploited in the wild (reported by VulnCheck KEV, InTheWild.io). EIP tracks 14 public exploits from researchers including Sec-1, Andrew McNicol, VoidSec, including a Metasploit module exploits/multi/http/joomla_http_header_rce. A Nuclei detection template is also available.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit leverages PHP object injection in Joomla via deserialization to achieve remote code execution (RCE). It crafts a malicious payload using Joomla's JDatabaseDriverMysqli and SimplePie classes, then sends it via HTTP headers to trigger the vulnerability.

Description

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.

Exploits (14)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Sec-1 · pythonwebappsphp
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/38977

This exploit leverages PHP object injection in Joomla via deserialization to achieve remote code execution (RCE). It crafts a malicious payload using Joomla's JDatabaseDriverMysqli and SimplePie classes, then sends it via HTTP headers to trigger the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla (unspecified version, likely 3.x)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable Joomla version · PHP deserialization must be enabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC
by Andrew McNicol · pythonwebappsphp
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39033

This exploit leverages a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla (CVE-2015-8562) via the X-Forwarded-For header to achieve remote code execution. It supports both blind command execution and a reverse shell payload.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 1.5 - 3.4.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of Joomla · Network access to the target · Python environment for execution
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 10 stars
by VoidSec · remote
https://github.com/VoidSec/Joomla_CVE-2015-8562

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla 1.5.0 through 3.4.5. The exploit leverages deserialization via the HTTP User-Agent or X-Forwarded-For header to achieve remote code execution (RCE) or spawn a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 1.5.0 through 3.4.5
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of Joomla (1.5.0-3.4.5) · PHP version before 5.4.45, 5.5.29, or 5.6.13
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec SUSPICIOUS 8 stars
by ZaleHack · poc
https://github.com/ZaleHack/joomla_rce_CVE-2015-8562

The repository lacks exploit code and only provides a YouTube demo link, which is a common tactic for luring users into external content. No technical details or actual PoC code are included.

Classification
Suspicious 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Theoretical
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Joomla! < 3.4.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Joomla! < 3.4.6 · PHP < 5.5.29, 5.6.13
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by paralelo14 · remote
https://github.com/paralelo14/CVE-2015-8562

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2015-8562, targeting Joomla 1.5 to 3.4.5 via object injection in the X-Forwarded-For header. The exploit generates a reverse shell payload and executes it on the target system.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 1.5 to 3.4.5
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target URL · Attacker IP · Attacker port for reverse shell
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by RobinHoutevelts · poc
https://github.com/RobinHoutevelts/Joomla-CVE-2015-8562-PHP-POC

This repository contains a functional PHP-based exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla. The exploit leverages a maliciously crafted User-Agent header to achieve remote code execution (RCE) by exploiting deserialization flaws in Joomla's session handling.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla (all versions prior to 3.4.6)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target running vulnerable Joomla version · PHP version < 5.4.45, < 5.5.29, or < 5.6.13
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 1 stars
by Caihuar · remote
https://github.com/Caihuar/Joomla-cve-2015-8562

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a vulnerability in Joomla's com_admin component. The provided Dockerfile sets up a vulnerable Joomla environment, and the included PHP files demonstrate the exploit by manipulating the profile controller to achieve unauthorized access or command execution.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla CMS 3.4.4 and earlier
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to the Joomla administrator interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
github WORKING POC
by DaDecky · pythonpoc
https://github.com/DaDecky/kpl-cve-vuln-pocs/tree/main/CVE-2015-8562

This repository contains functional exploit code for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla 3.4.5. The exploits leverage session deserialization via the X-Forwarded-For header to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 3.4.5
No auth needed
Prerequisites: PHP < 5.6.13 · Joomla 3.4.5 · Database-backed sessions · MySQL with sql-mode disabled
devstral-2 · analyzed May 02, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by lorenzodegiorgi · remote
https://github.com/lorenzodegiorgi/setup-cve-2015-8562

This repository contains a Dockerized Joomla CMS setup with modified files to demonstrate CVE-2015-8562, a vulnerability in Joomla's com_admin component. The exploit likely involves unauthorized access or execution due to missing access checks in the admin.php file.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Auth Bypass
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla CMS (versions affected by CVE-2015-8562)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to the Joomla administrator interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by guanjivip · remote
https://github.com/guanjivip/CVE-2015-8562

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla. The PoC sends a crafted HTTP request with a base64-encoded payload to execute arbitrary commands (e.g., 'whoami') on the target system.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla (unspecified version)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of Joomla · Network access to the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by xnorkl · remote
https://github.com/xnorkl/Joomla_Payload

This repository contains a functional exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla 1.5 to 3.4.5. The exploit leverages deserialization to achieve remote code execution (RCE) and includes options for blind command execution or reverse shell payloads.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 1.5 - 3.4.5
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target Joomla instance · Python environment to run the exploit
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by thejackerz · poc
https://github.com/thejackerz/scanner-exploit-joomla-CVE-2015-8562

This repository contains functional exploit code for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla. The exploit leverages deserialization in the HTTP header to achieve remote code execution (RCE) by crafting malicious payloads. The scanner script checks for vulnerable Joomla instances.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla (versions 1.5 to 3.4.4)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of Joomla · Network access to the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by atcasanova · remote
https://github.com/atcasanova/cve-2015-8562-exploit

This is a functional exploit for CVE-2015-8562, a PHP object injection vulnerability in Joomla. It crafts a malicious User-Agent header containing serialized payloads to achieve remote code execution via deserialization.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla! 1.5.x, 2.x, and 3.x before 3.4.6
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target running vulnerable Joomla version · Network access to the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
by Marc-Alexandre Montpas, Christian Mehlmauer · rubypocphp
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/joomla_http_header_rce.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2015-8562, an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in Joomla 1.5.0 to 3.4.5. It leverages PHP deserialization flaws by injecting malicious session data via HTTP headers (User-Agent or X-Forwarded-For) and requires specific PHP versions (pre-5.4.45, 5.5.x < 5.5.29, or 5.6.x < 5.6.13).

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Joomla 1.5.0 to 3.4.5
No auth needed
Prerequisites: PHP version < 5.4.45, 5.5.x < 5.5.29, or 5.6.x < 5.6.13 · Joomla session handling enabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Apr 30, 2026 Full analysis →

Nuclei Templates (1)

Joomla HTTP Header Unauthenticated - Remote Code Execution
HIGHby kairos-hk,bolkv,n0ming,RoughBoy0723
Shodan: http.html:"joomla! - open source content management" || http.component:"joomla" || cpe:"cpe:2.3:a:joomla:joomla\!"
FOFA: body="joomla! - open source content management"

References (9)

Core 9
Core References
Exploit exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39033/
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry mailing-list x_refsource_bugtraq
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/537219/100/0/threaded
Exploit exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/38977/
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/79195

Scores

EPSS 0.9285
EPSS Percentile 99.8%

Lab Environment

COMMUNITY
Community Lab
docker pull orsolin/docker-php-5.3-apache
docker pull mysql/mysql-server:5.6
+9 more repos

Details

VulnCheck KEV 2015-12-16
InTheWild.io 2018-10-09
CWE
CWE-20
Status published
Products (50)
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.0
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.1
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.2
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.3
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.4
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.6
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.7
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.8
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.9
joomla/joomla\! 1.5.10
... and 40 more
Published Dec 16, 2015
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026