Spectrum Protect Operations CenterApplication · Ibm

CVE-2019-4087

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-07-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.1.7.000 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Spectrum Protect Servers 7.1 and 8.1 and Storage Agents are vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking by servers and storage agents in response to specifically crafted communication exchanges. By sending an overly long request, a remote attacker could overflow a buffer and execute arbitrary code on the system with instance id privileges or cause the server or storage agent to crash. IBM X-Force ID: 157510.

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

A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Servers 7.1/8.1 and Storage Agents caused by improper bounds checking when processing specifically crafted communication requests. Successful exploitation allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code with instance id privileges or cause denial of service.

MitigationApply IBM patches for Spectrum Protect 7.1 and 8.1 to servers and storage agents; restrict network access to server communication ports until patches can be applied.

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
Spectrum Protect Operations CenterApplication
Affected:>= 7.1.0.000, <= 7.1.9.200>= 8.1.0.000, <= 8.1.7.000

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center installation
    Locate the product installation directory or check installed programs list for 'IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center' or related IBM Spectrum Protect components
    Affected if The product is not installed or not found on the system
  2. Determine installed version
    Check the version of IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center - typical locations include the installation directory, version file, or use command 'dsmadmc -v' or similar IBM Spectrum Protect command-line tool
    Affected if The installed version falls within 7.1.0.000 through 7.1.9.200 OR 8.1.0.000 through 8.1.7.000
  3. Verify service is running and listening on network ports
    Check if the IBM Spectrum Protect server service is active and listening on communication ports (typically TCP ports 1500, 1550, or similar) using 'netstat' or 'ss' commands
    Affected if The server service is running and exposed to network communication requests
  4. Confirm server or storage agent component is present
    Identify whether the system is running IBM Spectrum Protect Server or Storage Agent component by checking running processes for 'dsmserv' or checking configuration
    Affected if The server or storage agent component is present and operational

The environment is affected if IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center version 7.1.0.000-7.1.9.200 or 8.1.0.000-8.1.7.000 is installed with the server or storage agent service running and accessible over the network.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.1.7.000
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM patches for Spectrum Protect 7.1 and 8.1 to servers and storage agents; restrict network access to server communication ports until patches can be applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 7.1.10.0 or later (7.x); 8.1.8.0 or later (8.x)

  1. Identify the currently installed IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center version using the IBM Spectrum Protect console or command line
  2. Determine if the installed version falls within the affected ranges: 7.1.0.000-7.1.9.200 or 8.1.0.000-8.1.7.000
  3. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade, ensuring adequate backup of configuration and data
  4. Download the appropriate fixed version from IBM Fix Central or your IBM entitlement site
  5. For version 7.x deployments: Upgrade to IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 7.1.10.0 or later
  6. For version 8.x deployments: Upgrade to IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 8.1.8.0 or later
  7. Apply the upgrade following IBM standard installation procedures
  8. Verify the upgrade was successful and the version number reflects the patched release
Caveat Review IBM Spectrum Protect release notes for version-specific changes between your current version and target version to check for configuration or feature changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Spectrum Protect Operations Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing5.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,790
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,464.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-4087 — 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-2019-4087 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