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Infosphere Information ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2012-0205

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-01-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
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
InfoSphere Metadata Workbench (MWB) 8.1 through 8.7 in IBM InfoSphere Information Server 8.1, 8.5 before FP3, and 8.7 does not properly restrict use of the troubleshooting feature, which allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended access restrictions or cause a denial of service (workbench outage) via unspecified 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

InfoSphere Metadata Workbench contains a flaw in its troubleshooting feature that fails to properly enforce access restrictions. Authenticated remote users can exploit this to bypass intended security controls or trigger a denial of service, causing workbench outage.

MitigationApply IBM's Fix Pack 3 or later for version 8.5, and available patches for versions 8.1 and 8.7. If patching is not feasible, consider network-level restrictions to limit access to the troubleshooting functionality.

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 Information ServerApplication
Affected:= 8.1= 8.5= 8.5.0.1= 8.5.0.2= 8.7
Infosphere Metadata WorkbenchApplication
Affected:= 8.1= 8.1.1= 8.1.2= 8.5= 8.7

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
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/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. Identify if Metadata Workbench is installed
    Locate IBM InfoSphere Metadata Workbench installation directory, typically under the IBM Information Server home path. Check for presence of 'MetadataWorkbench' folder or 'mwb' executable/service.
    Affected if The product is not installed - user is not affected. If present, continue to version check.
  2. Determine installed version
    Check version information in the installation directory, such as a 'version.info' file, or run the product's version command if available. Compare against the affected list: 8.1, 8.1.1, 8.1.2, 8.5, 8.5.0.1, 8.5.0.2, 8.7.
    Affected if Installed version matches one of the affected versions - proceed to next check. If version is newer or not in the list, user may not be affected.
  3. Verify the troubleshooting feature is accessible
    Locate the troubleshooting feature or service within Metadata Workbench. This may be accessible via a web interface endpoint, API, or administrative console. Check if the feature responds to requests without additional authentication beyond basic login.
    Affected if The troubleshooting feature is exposed and accessible to authenticated users - the environment is potentially affected. If the feature is disabled or requires elevated privileges beyond standard authentication, impact may be reduced.
  4. Inspect access controls on troubleshooting functionality
    Review configuration files governing access to the troubleshooting feature. Look for XML configuration files in the installation directory that define permissions, roles, or access control lists for this component.
    Affected if Access controls are missing, misconfigured, or can be bypassed by any authenticated user - the vulnerability is present.

User is affected if IBM InfoSphere Metadata Workbench or Information Server version 8.1 through 8.7 is installed AND the troubleshooting feature is accessible to authenticated users without proper access restrictions enforced.

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's Fix Pack 3 or later for version 8.5, and available patches for versions 8.1 and 8.7. If patching is not feasible, consider network-level restrictions to limit access to the troubleshooting functionality.

Fix this in Infosphere Information Server 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-2012-0205 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