CVE-2013-2968
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 · uneditedAn unspecified buffer-read method in IBM Sterling Control Center (SCC) 5.2 before 5.2.0.9, 5.3 before 5.3.0.4, and 5.4 through 5.4.0.1 allows remote authenticated users to cause a denial of service via a large file that lacks end-of-line characters.
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 confidenceIBM Sterling Control Center contains an unspecified buffer-read vulnerability that allows authenticated remote users to cause a denial of service by processing large files lacking end-of-line characters. The vulnerability affects versions 5.2 before 5.2.0.9, 5.3 before 5.3.0.4, and 5.4 through 5.4.0.1.
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= 5.2.0= 5.3.0= 5.3.0.1= 5.3.0.2= 5.3.0.3= 5.4.0= 5.4.0.1CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:N/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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Identify installed IBM Sterling Control Center versionLocate the version information through the product's About section in the admin console, or check version files in the installation directory. The version is typically displayed in the product interface under Help > About or stored in a version.properties or similar configuration file.Affected if Version is 5.2.0.x (any patch level), 5.3.0.x through 5.3.0.3, or 5.4.0.x through 5.4.0.1
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Confirm the exact version numberVerify the full version string including patch level (for example, 5.2.0.4, 5.3.0.2, or 5.4.0.1). Compare this against the known affected versions.Affected if Version is 5.2.0, 5.3.0, 5.3.0.1, 5.3.0.2, 5.3.0.3, 5.4.0, or 5.4.0.1
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Determine if file processing is accessibleVerify whether the file processing or file transfer functionality is available to authenticated users. This feature is required for the vulnerability to be exploitable. Check user role permissions in the SCC admin interface.Affected if Authenticated users have access to process or transfer files through the SCC interface
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Assess authentication statusReview the SCC user authentication configuration to determine if remote authenticated access is permitted. The vulnerability requires an authenticated session.Affected if Remote authenticated access to the SCC interface is enabled and users can log in
You are affected if the installed IBM Sterling Control Center version is 5.2.0, 5.3.0 through 5.3.0.3, or 5.4.0 through 5.4.0.1 AND authenticated users can process files through the SCC interface.
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 dataUpgrade IBM Sterling Control Center to version 5.2.0.9, 5.3.0.4, or 5.4.0.2 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict authenticated access to the SCC interface and implement file upload validation to reject files lacking proper line terminators.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-2968 — 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-2013-2968 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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