CVE-2013-5423
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 · uneditedIBM Flex System Manager (FSM) 1.1 through 1.3 before 1.3.2.0 allows remote attackers to enumerate user 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 · moderate confidenceIBM Flex System Manager versions 1.1 through 1.3 before 1.3.2.0 contains a user enumeration vulnerability that allows remote attackers to discover valid user account names through unspecified vectors, likely via inconsistent authentication error responses or directory lookup endpoints.
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= 1.1.0= 1.2.0= 1.2.1= 1.3.0= 1.3.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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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Confirm IBM Flex System Manager is deployedIdentify if IBM Flex System Manager is installed and accessible in your environment by reviewing your inventory of installed software or network-exposed servicesAffected if IBM Flex System Manager is present and network-accessible
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Check installed version against affected rangeLocate and verify the installed version of IBM Flex System Manager by reviewing software inventory, system documentation, or the product's built-in version reporting featureAffected if The installed version is 1.1.0, 1.2.0, 1.2.1, 1.3.0, or 1.3.1 (versions 1.1 through 1.3 before 1.3.2.0)
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Test for user enumeration via authenticationSubmit login attempts with both valid and invalid usernames and compare the error responses, looking for differences in message content, timing, or response codes that could reveal valid accountsAffected if Authentication responses differ between valid and invalid usernames, revealing which accounts exist on the system
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Check for user enumeration via directory endpointsIf directory lookup or user search endpoints are accessible, probe them with various usernames and observe whether the system returns different responses for existing versus non-existing usersAffected if Directory or user lookup functionality returns distinct responses that disclose whether a particular username is valid
Your environment is affected if IBM Flex System Manager versions 1.1.0 through 1.3.1 are installed and the system exposes user account information through inconsistent authentication responses or user lookup endpoints.
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 Flex System Manager to version 1.3.2.0 or later. As a compensating control, implement rate limiting on authentication endpoints and ensure generic error messages are returned to prevent username disclosure.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-5423 — 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-2013-5423 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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