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Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2010-3733

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-10-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The Engine Utilities component in IBM DB2 UDB 9.5 before FP6a uses world-writable permissions for the sqllib/cfg/db2sprf file, which might allow local users to gain privileges by modifying this file.

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 UDB 9.5 before FP6a has incorrect file permissions on the sqllib/cfg/db2sprf file in the Engine Utilities component. This file is world-writable, allowing any local user to modify it and potentially escalate privileges by injecting malicious content that executes with elevated DB2 privileges.

MitigationApply DB2 Fix Pack 6a or later which corrects the file permissions on sqllib/cfg/db2sprf to restrict write access to owner/group only.

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:= 9.5

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/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. Locate DB2 installation directory
    Run 'db2pd -' or check common paths like /opt/ibm/db2V95, /home/db2inst1/sqllib, or the output of 'db2 get instance' to find the DB2 instance home directory. Look for the sqllib subdirectory.
    Affected if DB2 9.5 is not installed - not vulnerable
  2. Identify DB2 version and fix pack level
    Execute 'db2level' or 'db2pd -version' from a DB2 instance user. Parse the output to extract the version number (9.5) and fix pack level (e.g., FP5, FP6, FP6a).
    Affected if Version is 9.5 with fix pack before FP6a (e.g., FP5, FP4, etc.) - likely vulnerable
  3. Check permissions on db2sprf file
    From the DB2 instance directory, run 'ls -la sqllib/cfg/db2sprf' to inspect the file permissions. Look for the permission string (e.g., -rw-rw-rw- indicates world-writable).
    Affected if File shows world-writable permissions (rw-rw-rw- or similar where 'other' has write permission) - vulnerable

A system is affected if DB2 version 9.5 with a fix pack earlier than FP6a is installed AND the sqllib/cfg/db2sprf file has world-writable permissions (write access granted to 'other' or 'everyone').

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 DB2 Fix Pack 6a or later which corrects the file permissions on sqllib/cfg/db2sprf to restrict write access to owner/group only.

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2010-3733 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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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