CVE-2017-1508
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 Informix Dynamic Server 12.1 could allow a local user logged in with database administrator user to gain root privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 129620.
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 Informix Dynamic Server 12.1 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where a user with database administrator privileges can execute code with root/system-level privileges. The vulnerability requires local access and authenticated database admin credentials, allowing privilege escalation from the database admin role to operating system root.
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= 12.10CVSS 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
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is installedQuery the system for installed Informix binaries or check for Informix processes running (e.g., oninit, onpsmadm). Use 'ps -ef | grep -i informix' or check common installation directories.Affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is found running on the system
-
Determine the installed versionRun 'onstat -' or check the version file in the Informix installation directory, or use 'oninit -version' to retrieve the exact version number.Affected if The version is 12.10.x (specifically 12.10)
-
Verify database administrator accounts existQuery the Informix sysusers or sysdbases catalog tables, or use 'onmode -U' to list users with DBA privileges.Affected if There are one or more database administrator (DBA) users configured in the Informix instance
-
Check for external routines or stored procedures with elevated executionReview the sysprocedures catalog for user-defined routines (UDRs) or external stored procedures that may execute OS-level commands. Query 'SELECT procname, mode, valid FROM sysprocedures WHERE mode = "D";'Affected if External routines or stored procedures exist that could be leveraged for privilege escalation
-
Review user permissions and role assignmentsCheck the sysroleauth and sysuserauth tables to identify which users have been granted DBA or sysadmin roles, or use 'onaudit -u' if auditing is enabled.Affected if Any user holds DBA or elevated database privileges beyond what is strictly required
The environment is affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.10 is installed and any database administrator accounts exist, allowing a potential attacker with DBA credentials to escalate to root/system privileges.
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 dataApply IBM's official patch for CVE-2017-1508 when available, restrict database administrator access to trusted personnel, and follow least-privilege principles for database user accounts.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-1508 — 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-2017-1508 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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