What is CVE-2015-7268?A medium-severity flaw in 850 Pro, explained.
CVE-2015-7268 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 4.2) in 850 Pro from Samsung, published on 27 November 2017. It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts its chance of use in the next 30 days at 0.3%. If you run an affected version, plan in the vendor’s fix.
Published 27 November 2017. Record last updated 20 April 2025. We keep this page's data up to date.
What is CVE-2015-7268? In plain terms.
An attacker has to be physically at the device without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can read data.
Samsung 850 Pro and PM851 solid-state drives and Seagate ST500LT015 and ST500LT025 hard disk drives, when used on Windows and operating in Opal mode on Lenovo ThinkPad T440s laptops with BIOS 2.32 or ThinkPad W541 laptops with BIOS 2.21, or in Opal or eDrive mode on Dell Latitude E6410 laptops with BIOS A16 or Latitude E6430 laptops with BIOS A16, allow physically proximate attackers to bypass self-encrypting drive (SED) protection by triggering a soft reset and booting from an alternative OS, aka a "Forced Restart Attack."
What kind of flaw is it?
- UnknownUnknown
How an attack on it works
Read straight from its severity rating, translated out of the shorthand.
- Where an attacker can bePhysically at the device
- How hard it is to pull offHard: conditions must line up
- Login needed firstNo login needed
- Does someone have to clickNo, nobody has to do anything
- What an attacker getsCan read data
Severity vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Is CVE-2015-7268 being exploited? Not that we know of.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.3%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
Timeline
- Published
- Record last updated
CVE-2015-7268 scores 18. Action: Track.
We keep the score of every published flaw up to date as the evidence changes. Four things go into the score, and evidence that criminals are actually using it counts most. In order:
- Evidence it is being exploitedBiggest factor
- How severe it isStrong factor
- How widely exposed it isSmaller factor
- Threat activity around itSmaller factor
85 and above is Critical. Anything confirmed as exploited is always marked for an emergency patch, whatever its score.
When CVE-2015-7268 matches software you track, it lands in your list with its score and the reasons behind it.
See your own ranked list →Who is affected by CVE-2015-7268? 8 products.
The published record lists 8 products from 2 vendors. If you run one of these, check your version, then go to the fix below.
- Hardware
850 Pro
by Samsung
Affected versionsversion not specified - Operating system
850 Pro Firmware
by Samsung
Affected versionsversion not specified - Hardware
Pm851
by Samsung
Affected versionsversion not specified - Operating system
Pm851 Firmware
by Samsung
Affected versionsversion not specified - Hardware
St500lt015
by Seagate
Affected versionsversion not specified - Operating system
St500lt015 Firmware
by Seagate
Affected versionsversion not specified - Hardware
St500lt025
by Seagate
Affected versionsversion not specified - Operating system
St500lt025 Firmware
by Seagate
Affected versionsversion not specified
How do I fix CVE-2015-7268? Four steps.
- Check whether you run itCompare your versions with the affected products above. Not sure what you run? Precursor Intelligence can work it out from your public website, or you can pick it from a list.
- Apply the vendor’s fixInstall the latest update from the vendor. The references list where the vendor has published details.
- If you can’t patch todayFollow any mitigation the vendor publishes, and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet until the update is in.
- Keep an eye on itTrack the product and we tell you as soon as we spot this flaw on the list of exploited flaws, or a jump in its exploit likelihood.
Does CVE-2015-7268 affect you? We'll keep checking.
Looking flaws up one at a time doesn't scale. Tell us what you run once, and we tell you which flaws matter to you, in what order, and keep watching for new ones.
- Tell us what you runPick your software from a list, or let us work it out from your website.
- We match it to every flawOver 400,000 published flaws, checked against your list.
- Ranked by real-world riskA 0 to 100 score, led by evidence criminals are using it.
- Told as soon as we knowAn alert by email, in the app or by webhook to your own tools.
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1 new flaw affects software Acme tracks
Samsung 850 Pro and PM851 solid-state drives and Seagate ST500LT015 and ST500LT025 hard disk drives, when used on Windows and operating in Opal mode on Lenov...
- Matched to
- 850 Pro on Acme's software list
- What to do
- Plan in the vendor’s update
Sent to the alert recipients Acme chose. Also in the app and to Acme's webhook.
CVE-2015-7268 is a medium-severity flaw in 850 Pro from Samsung, published on 27 November 2017. An attacker has to be physically at the device without logging in, and nobody has to click anything. If it works, the attacker can read data.
It scores 4.2 out of 10 on the CVSS severity scale, which is medium. Our risk score for CVE-2015-7268 is 18 out of 100, which is Info. Its action is "Track". No sign of exploitation and a low forecast. Patch it in your normal update cycle.
It is not on the list of flaws known to be exploited today. The latest forecast puts the chance of it being used in the next 30 days at 0.3%. That can change at any time, which is why we keep watching.
For 850 Pro from Samsung: version not specified. The record lists 8 products in all, each with its versions, under "Who is affected" on this page.
Install the update the vendor names in its advisory. If you can't patch today, follow the vendor's mitigation and limit who can reach the affected system from the internet.