CVE-2017-3768
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 · uneditedAn unprivileged attacker with connectivity to the IMM2 could cause a denial of service attack on the IMM2 (Versions earlier than 4.4 for Lenovo System x and earlier than 6.4 for IBM System x). Flooding the IMM2 with a high volume of authentication failures via the Common Information Model (CIM) used by LXCA and OneCLI and other tools can exhaust available system memory which can cause the IMM2 to reboot itself until the requests cease.
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 confidenceAn unprivileged network attacker with connectivity to the IMM2 (Integrated Management Module 2) can cause denial of service by flooding the CIM (Common Information Model) interface with a high volume of authentication failures, exhausting available system memory and triggering automatic reboots until the malicious requests cease. This affects Lenovo System x versions earlier than 4.4 and IBM System x versions earlier than 6.4.
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< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4< 4.4CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
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Identify the IMM2-enabled system modelAccess the IMM2 web interface or use IPMI commands (e.g., ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IMM_IP> -U <user> mc info) to retrieve the system model name. Confirm it matches one of the affected models: Flex System X240 M5, X280 X6, X440 M4, X480 X6, X880, Nextscale Nx360 M5, System X3250 M6, or System X3500 M5.Affected if The system model is one of the listed affected models and the firmware version is below 4.4.
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Check IMM2 firmware versionIn the IMM2 web interface, navigate to the IMM2 Properties or Firmware Update section to view the current firmware version. Alternatively, use IPMI command: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IMM_IP> -U <user> mc info to retrieve firmware revision.Affected if The firmware version is earlier than 4.4 (for Lenovo models) or earlier than 6.4 (for IBM System x models, not listed in this CVE).
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Verify CIM interface is enabledIn the IMM2 web interface, go to Settings > Services or IMM Settings and locate the CIM (Common Information Model) / WS-Man service settings. Check if CIM/WBEM is enabled.Affected if The CIM interface is enabled and accessible over the network.
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Assess network exposure of IMM2Confirm that the IMM2 has an IP address on a network segment accessible to untrusted users. Check firewall rules or network ACLs that may limit access to the IMM2 management ports (typically ports 443, 623 UDP for IPMI).Affected if The IMM2 is reachable from untrusted network segments without adequate firewall protection.
You are affected if your system is a listed Lenovo model with IMM2 firmware earlier than version 4.4, and the CIM interface is enabled and network-accessible to untrusted attackers.
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 data4.4
Upgrade IMM2 firmware to version 4.4 or later for Lenovo System x, or version 6.4 or later for IBM System x. Consider network segmentation or firewall rules to limit CIM interface exposure to untrusted networks as an interim control.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-3768 — 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-2017-3768 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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