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Infosphere DatastageApplication · Ibm

CVE-2011-3123

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-08-10
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
IBM InfoSphere Information Server 8.5 and 8.5.0.1 on Unix and Linux, as used in IBM InfoSphere DataStage 8.5 and 8.5.0.1 and other products, uses weak permissions for unspecified files, which allows local users to gain privileges via unknown 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 · moderate confidence

IBM InfoSphere Information Server and DataStage versions 8.5 and 8.5.0.1 on Unix/Linux systems contain files with weak permissions, allowing local unprivileged users to potentially modify or replace executable files and gain elevated privileges.

MitigationIdentify and correct file permissions on IBM InfoSphere installation directories to restrict write access to authorized administrators, or apply vendor-supplied patches for version 8.5/8.5.0.1.

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
Infosphere DatastageApplication
Affected:= 8.5= 8.5.0.1
Infosphere Information ServerApplication
Affected:= 8.5= 8.5.0.1

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
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. Verify if IBM InfoSphere Information Server or DataStage is installed
    Locate the installation directory by checking common paths such as /opt/IBM/InformationServer or searching for dsjob, InfoSphere, or DataStage executables using 'find / -name "dsjob" -o -name "InfoSphere" 2>/dev/null'
    Affected if The product is found to be installed on Unix/Linux systems
  2. Determine the installed version of InfoSphere or DataStage
    Run 'ls -la' on the installation directory and check version files, or run 'dsjob -version' if the dsjob command is available, or check for version files in the installation directory structure
    Affected if The version is 8.5 or 8.5.0.1 specifically
  3. Identify the installation directory path
    Locate the root directory containing the IBM InfoSphere installation, typically found under /opt/IBM/InformationServer or /opt/IBM/InfoSphere
    Affected if The installation directory exists and contains InfoSphere or DataStage components
  4. Check file permissions on executable files in the installation directory
    Use 'find <installation_dir> -type f -executable -ls' to list executables, then check permissions with 'ls -la <installation_dir>/bin/*' or similar to identify files with world-writable (w) or group-writable permissions
    Affected if Executable files or scripts in the installation directory have permissions allowing write access by non-privileged users (such as 777, 775, or similar world-writable/group-writable modes)
  5. Inspect critical directories for overly permissive access
    Check directories such as bin, lib, server, or scripts subdirectories within the InfoSphere installation using 'ls -ld <install_dir>/{bin,lib,server,scripts}' to see if they are world-writable
    Affected if Any directory containing executable code or configuration files has permissions like 777 or allows write access by non-admin users

A system is affected if IBM InfoSphere Information Server or DataStage version 8.5 or 8.5.0.1 is installed on Unix/Linux and the installation directory or its executables have world-writable or group-writable permissions that would allow a local unprivileged user to modify or replace executable files.

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

Identify and correct file permissions on IBM InfoSphere installation directories to restrict write access to authorized administrators, or apply vendor-supplied patches for version 8.5/8.5.0.1.

Fix this in Infosphere Datastage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2011-3123 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data