Websphere PortalApplication · Ibm

CVE-2017-1423

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-12-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
IBM WebSphere Portal 8.5 and 9.0 exposes backend server URLs that are configured for usage by the Web Application Bridge component. IBM X-Force ID: 127476.

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

IBM WebSphere Portal 8.5 and 9.0 contains an information disclosure vulnerability where the Web Application Bridge component exposes backend server URLs that should remain internal. An unauthenticated remote attacker could potentially access these URLs to discover internal infrastructure.

MitigationApply IBM WebSphere Portal security patches for CVE-2017-1423 and review Web Application Bridge configuration to ensure backend URLs are not exposed to unauthenticated 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
Websphere PortalApplication
Affected:= 8.5.0.0= 9.0.0.0

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed WebSphere Portal version
    Locate the version file in the WebSphere Portal installation directory, typically in the PortalServer/properties/was/product.properties file, or run the versionInfo command from the wp_profile/bin directory: versionInfo.sh (Unix) or versionInfo.bat (Windows)
    Affected if Version shown is exactly 8.5.0.0 or 9.0.0.0
  2. Confirm Web Application Bridge is configured
    Check for Web Application Bridge configuration files in the WebSphere Portal configuration directory, typically under PortalServer/wasCells/cells/wsadmin-actions.xml or search for WAB-related XML configuration files in the wp_profile/config directory
    Affected if Web Application Bridge XML configuration files exist and the component is provisioned in the portal configuration
  3. Inspect Web Application Bridge proxy rules
    Review the Web Application Bridge configuration for proxy rule definitions that map external requests to backend URLs. These are typically stored in the portal-configuration XML files or can be accessed via WebSphere Integrated Solutions Console under Resources > Resource Environment > Provider
    Affected if Proxy rules exist that define backend URL mappings accessible through the Web Application Bridge endpoint
  4. Verify external accessibility of WAB endpoint
    Test accessing the Web Application Bridge endpoint externally. The typical path is /wab/ followed by the configured proxy path. Attempt to access this endpoint without authentication from an external network location
    Affected if The WAB endpoint responds and returns or redirects to backend internal server URLs without requiring authentication

You are affected if running exactly version 8.5.0.0 or 9.0.0.0 AND the Web Application Bridge is enabled with exposed backend URL configurations accessible to unauthenticated 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

Apply IBM WebSphere Portal security patches for CVE-2017-1423 and review Web Application Bridge configuration to ensure backend URLs are not exposed to unauthenticated users.

Fix this in Websphere Portal Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2017-1423 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • 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