Tivoli Storage ManagerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2015-4927

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-11-04
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
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
The Reporting and Monitoring component in Tivoli Monitoring in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager 6.3 before 6.3.6 and 7.1 before 7.1.3 on Linux and AIX uses world-writable permissions for unspecified files, which allows local users to gain privileges by writing to a file.

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 confidence

The Reporting and Monitoring component in IBM Tivoli Storage Manager versions 6.3 before 6.3.6 and 7.1 before 7.1.3 on Linux and AIX creates or uses files with world-writable permissions, allowing any local user to modify these files and potentially escalate privileges by injecting malicious content or overwriting sensitive configuration.

MitigationIdentify and change permissions on the affected files in the Reporting and Monitoring component to remove world-writable access (typically 644 or stricter), then verify the component functions correctly after the permission changes.

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
Tivoli Storage ManagerApplication
Affected:= 6.3.3= 6.3.4= 6.3.5= 6.3.5.1= 7.1= 7.1.1= 7.1.2

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed TSM version
    Run 'dsmadmc -v' or check the Tivoli Storage Manager version via the server console with 'query version' command, or inspect the installation directory for version files
    Affected if The installed version is 6.3.3, 6.3.4, 6.3.5, 6.3.5.1, 7.1, 7.1.1, or 7.1.2 (versions before 6.3.6 or 7.1.3)
  2. Determine if Reporting and Monitoring component is in use
    Check if TSM reporting or monitoring features are configured by examining the TSM configuration files or running 'dsmadmc -tab' queries for scheduled reports, or check for presence of reporting/monitoring data directories under the TSM installation path
    Affected if The Reporting and Monitoring component is installed and actively storing output or configuration in the TSM directories
  3. Locate Reporting and Monitoring files
    Search the TSM installation directory and data paths for files associated with the Reporting and Monitoring component - typical locations include installation_root/reporting, installation_root/monitoring, or the TSM server data directory
    Affected if Files belonging to the Reporting and Monitoring component exist in the TSM environment
  4. Check file permissions on reporting/monitoring files
    Use 'ls -la' command on identified Reporting and Monitoring directories and files to examine permissions, looking specifically for files showing 'w' permission in the 'other' field (octal 2 or world-writable bit set)
    Affected if Any files used by the Reporting and Monitoring component have world-writable permissions (mode includes 2, such as 666, 776, 777, or similar)
  5. Verify ownership and permission inheritance
    Examine multiple files in the reporting/monitoring paths to determine if the world-writable permission is a pattern across all component files or only specific generated outputs
    Affected if Multiple files within the Reporting and Monitoring component share world-writable permissions, indicating systemic incorrect permission creation

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable TSM version (6.3.3-6.3.5.1 or 7.1-7.1.2) with the Reporting and Monitoring component active and contains files with world-writable permissions owned by the TSM process

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

Identify and change permissions on the affected files in the Reporting and Monitoring component to remove world-writable access (typically 644 or stricter), then verify the component functions correctly after the permission changes.

Fix this in Tivoli Storage Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-4927 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-4927 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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