CVE-2013-4031
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 Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) implementation in Integrated Management Module (IMM) and Integrated Management Module II (IMM2) on IBM BladeCenter, Flex System, System x iDataPlex, and System x3### servers has a default password for the IPMI user account, which makes it easier for remote attackers to perform power-on, power-off, or reboot actions, or add or modify accounts, 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 · high confidenceIBM's Integrated Management Module (IMM) and IMM2 implementations on BladeCenter, Flex System, and System x servers contain a hardcoded default password for the IPMI user account. Attackers with network access to the IPMI BMC can authenticate using these default credentials to gain full administrative control, enabling them to power the server on/off, reboot, and add or modify user accounts.
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= hs22= hs22v= hs23= hs23e= hx5all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the server modelCheck the server hardware model (BladeCenter hs22/hs22v/hs23/hx23e/hx5, Flex System X220/X240/X440, System x Idataplex Dx360 M2/M3/M4, or System X3100 M4) via BMC, BIOS, or physical labelsAffected if The server model matches one of the affected models listed in the CVE
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Verify IMM/IMM2 IPMI interface is presentAccess the BMC web interface or use IPMI tools (ipmitool) to query the BMC: 'ipmitool -I open chassis status' or check for open ports 623 (UDP) on the IPMI/BMC IP addressAffected if IMM or IMM2 firmware is present and the IPMI interface is accessible on the network
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Assess IPMI network exposureReview firewall rules, VLAN configuration, and network access controls to determine if the IPMI/BMC interface is reachable from untrusted networks or the internetAffected if The IPMI interface is exposed to network segments with untrusted users or is internet-accessible
A user is affected if they operate any of the listed IBM server models with IPMI/IMM enabled, where the default IPMI credentials have not been changed and the interface is network-accessible.
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 dataImmediately change the default IPMI credentials on all affected systems to strong, unique passwords. Restrict network access to IPMI interfaces via firewall rules or VLAN isolation, and apply IBM patches when available.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-4031 — 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-2013-4031 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data