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Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2009-3473

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
IBM DB2 9.1 before FP8 does not require the SETSESSIONUSER privilege for the SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement, which has unspecified impact and remote attack vectors.

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

IBM DB2 9.1 prior to Fix Pack 8 contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where the SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement does not properly validate the SETSESSIONUSER privilege. This allows any authenticated database user to potentially switch their session authorization to another user, including administrative accounts, enabling unauthorized privilege escalation through remote database connections.

MitigationApply IBM DB2 Fix Pack 8 or later to resolve the privilege validation issue. Until patched, enable detailed database audit logging for SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements and restrict database user permissions to the minimum required.

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
Db2Application
Affected:= 9.1

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Identify the DB2 version and fix pack level
    Run 'db2level' from the DB2 command line or query DB2 for version information using 'SELECT * FROM SYSIBM.SYSVERSION'. Look for version 9.1 and note the fix pack number.
    Affected if The installed version is DB2 9.1 with a fix pack earlier than Fix Pack 8.
  2. Verify if users have the SETSESSIONUSER privilege granted
    Query the DB2 catalog tables, specifically SYSIBM.SYSUSERAUTH or check privileges using 'SELECT GRANTEE, SETSESSIONUSER FROM SYSIBM.SYSUSERAUTH' or 'db2 GET AUTHORIZATIONS' command.
    Affected if Any non-administrative database user has the SETSESSIONUSER privilege granted to them.
  3. Review database audit logs for SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION usage
    Examine DB2 audit logs or diagnostic logs for any SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements that were executed. Use 'db2audit' or review db2diag.log files if audit is enabled.
    Affected if Any SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements appear in logs executed by non-DBA users, or if there are unauthorized session authorization switches to administrative accounts.
  4. Check current session authorization context
    Query the current session authorization using 'SELECT CURRENT SQLID FROM SYSIBM.SYSDUMMY1' or 'VALUES CURRENT SQLID' to see the active authorization ID.
    Affected if The session authorization has been changed to a different user than the originally authenticated user without proper escalation.

A user is affected if running DB2 version 9.1 with a fix pack earlier than 8 and non-administrative users have been granted or can exercise the SETSESSIONUSER privilege to change their session authorization.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM DB2 Fix Pack 8 or later to resolve the privilege validation issue. Until patched, enable detailed database audit logging for SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements and restrict database user permissions to the minimum required.

Recommended fix High confidence

DB2 9.1 Fix Pack 8 (FP8) or later

  1. Download IBM DB2 9.1 Fix Pack 8 (or later) from IBM Fix Central or your IBM authorized support channel
  2. Stop all DB2 instances and services before applying the fix pack
  3. Install DB2 9.1 Fix Pack 8 following IBM's installation instructions for your operating system
  4. Restart DB2 instances and services after installation
  5. Verify the fix pack version is correctly installed by running 'db2level' command
  6. Test that the SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statement now properly requires SETSESSIONUSER privilege
Caveat Review IBM DB2 9.1 Fix Pack 8 release notes for any changes to behavior, deprecated features, or compatibility notes before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2009-3473 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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