CVE-2011-1033
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 · uneditedStack-based buffer overflow in oninit in IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) 11.50 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted arguments in the USELASTCOMMITTED session environment option in a SQL SET ENVIRONMENT statement.
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 confidenceA stack-based buffer overflow exists in IBM Informix Dynamic Server 11.50's oninit utility. The vulnerability is triggered through the USELASTCOMMITTED session environment option within a SQL SET ENVIRONMENT statement, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by supplying specially crafted arguments.
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= 11.50CVSS 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
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Informix Dynamic Server is installedLocate the oninit utility on the system. Common paths include $INFORMIXDIR/bin/oninit or check for Informix processes running (ps -ef | grep oninit)Affected if The oninit utility is found and the server is running
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Confirm the installed version is 11.50Run 'oninit -version' or check the Informix version file (typically $INFORMIXDIR/etc/version), or query the database with 'onstat -' commandAffected if The version reported is exactly 11.50 (any subversion like 11.50.x)
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Identify if USELASTCOMMITTED is enabled in sessionsCheck session configurations or application code for SET ENVIRONMENT USELASTCOMMITTED statements. Review SQL logs or connection profiles for this environment variable settingAffected if USELASTCOMMITTED is set within SET ENVIRONMENT statements in any active session configuration or application code
You are affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 11.50 is installed AND the USELASTCOMMITTED environment option is enabled in any session configuration.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the IBM Informix patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, restrict network access to Informix servers and disable the USELASTCOMMITTED environment option in untrusted sessions.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1033 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-1033 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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