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Tivoli Directory ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2008-2943

MEDIUM · 6.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-06-30
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Double free vulnerability in IBM Tivoli Directory Server (TDS) 6.1.0.0 through 6.1.0.15 allows remote authenticated administrators to cause a denial of service (ABEND) and possibly execute arbitrary code by using ldapadd to attempt to create a duplicate ibm-globalAdminGroup LDAP database entry. NOTE: the vendor states "There is no real risk of a vulnerability," although there are likely scenarios in which a user is allowed to make administrative LDAP requests but does not have the privileges to stop the server.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Double-free vulnerability in IBM Tivoli Directory Server (TDS) 6.1.0.0 through 6.1.0.15 allows remote authenticated administrators to trigger a double-free condition by using ldapadd to attempt creating a duplicate ibm-globalAdminGroup LDAP entry, causing a denial of service (ABEND) and potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply IBM Tivoli Directory Server fix packs to upgrade beyond version 6.1.0.15, and restrict administrative LDAP access to trusted personnel only to reduce attack surface.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Tivoli Directory ServerApplication
Affected:= 6.1.0.0= 6.1.0.1= 6.1.0.2= 6.1.0.3= 6.1.0.4= 6.1.0.5= 6.1.0.6= 6.1.0.7= 6.1.0.8= 6.1.0.9= 6.1.0.10= 6.1.0.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify IBM Tivoli Directory Server is installed
    Look for IBM TDS installation directories (e.g., /opt/ibm/ldap, /opt/ibm/TDS) or check for processes named ibmslapd, ibmdirctl, or GSKit-related processes using commands like 'ps -ef | grep -i ibm' or 'ls -la /opt/ibm/'
    Affected if IBM Tivoli Directory Server binaries or processes are found on the system
  2. Determine the installed IBM TDS version
    Check the version file in the installation directory, typically found in <install_path>/bin/ibmdirversion or <install_path>/properties/version.txt, or run 'ibmdirversion' if available in PATH
    Affected if The installed version is 6.1.0.0 through 6.1.0.15 (inclusive)
  3. Confirm the LDAP server daemon is running
    Check for active slapd processes listening on LDAP ports (typically 389 or 636) using 'ps -ef | grep slapd' or 'netstat -an | grep -E "389|636"'
    Affected if The LDAP server (slapd) is running and accepting connections
  4. Identify if administrative LDAP access is possible
    Verify the ibm-globalAdminGroup entry exists in the directory by running an LDAP search (e.g., 'ldapsearch -D <admin_dn> -w <password> -b "cn=ibm-globalAdminGroup,cn=groups,ou=org"' or checking configuration)
    Affected if The ibm-globalAdminGroup LDAP entry exists and the server is accessible to authenticated administrators who could attempt the duplicate entry operation

You are affected if IBM Tivoli Directory Server version 6.1.0.0 through 6.1.0.15 is installed, the LDAP service is running, and an authenticated administrator could attempt to create a duplicate ibm-globalAdminGroup entry using ldapadd.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM Tivoli Directory Server fix packs to upgrade beyond version 6.1.0.15, and restrict administrative LDAP access to trusted personnel only to reduce attack surface.

Fix this in Tivoli Directory Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-2943 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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