Actively exploited vulnerability

ProFTPD: improper access control flaw under attack

CVE-2015-3306 · ProFTPD Improper Access Control Vulnerability

Business software10.0 critical

What is affected

ProFTPD is mostly run by companies, schools and public bodies, not on home computers. You are unlikely to have it yourself, but organisations that hold your data may. Breaches that start with flaws like this one are how personal data ends up leaked.

ProFTPD contains an improper access control vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to read and write to arbitrary files via the site cpfr and site cpto commands.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a improper access control flaw. It lets an attacker perform actions or reach data that should be restricted to authorised users.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

What to do

  1. At home: nothing to install. Keep your own devices updated and use a different password for every service, so that a breach at one organisation does not open your other accounts.
  2. If you administer ProFTPD at work: apply the vendor's fix or mitigation now and review logs for signs of compromise, because the flaw was being exploited before it was listed.
  3. If the product is past its support date and no fix exists, take it off the internet or retire it.

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA’s BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA’s “Forensics Triage Requirements” (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

Vendor advisories and fixes

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on October 8, 2026, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by October 11, 2026 (2 days from now). That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 97% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.9% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 10.0 out of 10 (critical), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

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.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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