CVE-2013-2989
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 · uneditedThe file-copying functionality in IBM Sterling Connect:Direct 3.8.00, 4.0.00, and 4.1.0 for UNIX on AIX 6.1 through 7.1 uses incorrect privileges, which allows local users to bypass filesystem read permissions and write permissions by leveraging authentication to the Connect:Direct product.
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 confidenceThe file-copying functionality in IBM Sterling Connect:Direct versions 3.8.00, 4.0.00, and 4.1.0 for UNIX on AIX uses incorrect privilege handling, allowing authenticated local users to bypass filesystem read and write permission checks. This authorization bypass occurs because the software does not properly enforce the underlying file permissions when performing copy operations through its authenticated interface.
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= 3.8.00= 4.0.00= 4.1.0.0CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/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 IBM Sterling Connect:Direct installationLook for Connect:Direct installation directories on the system, such as /opt/cdunix or /opt/ Sterling /ConnectDirect. Check for the presence of cdunix binary or initialization scripts.Affected if Connect:Direct is not installed on the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
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Identify installed versionRun 'lsattr -E -l cdunix' or check version files in the installation directory, such as version.txt or .cdversion. Also try 'cdunix -version' if available.Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.8.00, 4.0.00, or 4.1.0.0, the system is vulnerable.
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Confirm operating system is AIXRun 'uname -a' or 'oslevel' to verify the system is running AIX.Affected if The vulnerability specifically affects UNIX on AIX; other operating systems or platforms are not affected by this specific flaw.
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Verify authenticated access to file-copy functionalityCheck if the Connect:Direct service is running and accessible for authenticated file copy operations. Review user authentication configurations in the cdunix configuration files.Affected if The vulnerability requires an authenticated user session to exploit the privilege bypass in file-copy operations.
The system is affected only if IBM Sterling Connect:Direct versions 3.8.00, 4.0.00, or 4.1.0.0 is installed on AIX and the file-copy functionality is accessible to authenticated users.
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 IBM-provided patches for this vulnerability. Additionally, restrict Connect:Direct authentication to trusted users only and implement least-privilege access controls on the system.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-2989 — 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-2013-2989 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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