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Infosphere BiginsightsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2015-1947

HIGH · 7.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2015-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
79/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges 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
Untrusted search path vulnerability in IBM InfoSphere BigInsights 3.0, 3.0.0.1, 3.0.0.2, and 4.0, when a DB2 database is used, allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse library that is loaded by a setuid or setgid program.

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

Untrusted search path vulnerability in IBM InfoSphere BigInsights (versions 3.0 through 4.0) when using DB2 database allows local privilege escalation. Attackers can place a malicious Trojan horse library in a directory that gets searched before the legitimate library location, which then gets loaded by a vulnerable setuid or setgid program, resulting in arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationRemove unnecessary setuid/setgid permissions from affected BigInsights binaries, secure library search paths to use absolute paths only, or apply IBM patches when released. Verify that library directories are not writable by unprivileged users.

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 BiginsightsApplication
Affected:= 3.0.0.0= 3.0.0.1= 3.0.0.2= 4.0.0.0

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
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Verify BigInsights version
    Run 'lswrelease' or check /usr/ibmpacks directory for installed BigInsights version packages. Alternatively, check the BigInsights installation directory for version.info or manifest files.
    Affected if Installed version matches 3.0.0.0, 3.0.0.1, 3.0.0.2, or 4.0.0.0
  2. Confirm DB2 integration with BigInsights
    Check if BigInsights is configured to use a DB2 database. Look for DB2 client libraries, JDBC connections to DB2, or DB2 configuration files within the BigInsights installation directory (typically under /usr/ibmpacks or the BigInsights home directory).
    Affected if DB2 database is integrated or configured as the backend for BigInsights services
  3. Identify setuid or setgid BigInsights binaries
    Run 'find <BigInsights_home> -perm -4000 -o -perm -2000' to locate all setuid and setgid executables within the BigInsights installation directory. Common locations include /usr/ibmpacks or /opt/ibm/biginsights.
    Affected if Any setuid or setgid binaries exist within the BigInsights installation, particularly those that load shared libraries
  4. Check library search path for vulnerabilities
    Use 'ldd' on identified setuid/setgid binaries to examine which libraries they load and from which paths. Then inspect the directory permissions on those library search paths using 'ls -la' on paths shown in ldd output.
    Affected if Library search paths include relative or world-writable directories (such as current working directory, /tmp, or world-writable subdirectories) that could be exploited by an attacker
  5. Inspect directory permissions in library paths
    Check permissions on directories in the library search path (from ldd output) that appear before the legitimate DB2 library location. Verify no unprivileged user can write to these directories.
    Affected if Any directory in the library search path that precedes the legitimate DB2 library location is writable by non-root users

The environment is affected if BigInsights version 3.0.0.0 through 4.0.0.0 is installed with DB2 integration and contains setuid/setgid binaries that load libraries from search paths accessible to unprivileged users.

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

Remove unnecessary setuid/setgid permissions from affected BigInsights binaries, secure library search paths to use absolute paths only, or apply IBM patches when released. Verify that library directories are not writable by unprivileged users.

Fix this in Infosphere Biginsights Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2015-1947 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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