CVE-2019-4031
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 Workload Scheduler Distributed 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, and 9.5 contains a vulnerability that could allow a local user to write files as root in the file system, which could allow the attacker to gain root privileges. IBM X-Force ID: 155997.
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 confidenceIBM Workload Scheduler Distributed versions 9.2 through 9.5 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where an authenticated local user can write files as root to the file system, enabling the attacker to gain root privileges.
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= 9.2= 9.3= 9.4= 9.5CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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.
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Check if IBM Workload Scheduler is installedLook for installation directories such as /opt/IBM/TWS or /opt/IBM/tws, or check for the product in standard package management toolsAffected if The product is found on the system
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Determine the installed versionCheck version files in the installation directory (common locations include <install_dir>/version.txt, <install_dir>/TWS/version.dat, or look for version information in <install_dir>/bin/twsinfo)Affected if The installed version matches 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, or 9.5
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Verify the authenticated user contextIdentify if you have local user accounts with access to the Workload Scheduler environment (check /etc/passwd for local users or use 'whoami' to confirm your current user context)Affected if An authenticated local user exists on the system
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Check for vulnerable file permissionsExamine write permissions on critical directories such as the Workload Scheduler bin directory, configuration directories, or startup scripts. Use commands like 'ls -la <install_dir>/' and look for world-writable or group-writable permissionsAffected if The authenticated user can write to root-owned directories or scripts used by the Workload Scheduler service
The environment is affected if IBM Workload Scheduler Distributed version 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, or 9.5 is installed and an authenticated local user has write access to files or directories that the scheduler executes with elevated 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 the IBM patch or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version of IBM Workload Scheduler Distributed as specified in IBM's security bulletin.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-4031 — 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-2019-4031 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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