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Websphere Application ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2022-39161

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Application Server 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, and IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty, when configured to communicate with the Web Server Plug-ins for IBM WebSphere Application Server, could allow an authenticated user to conduct spoofing attacks. A man-in-the-middle attacker could exploit this vulnerability using a certificate issued by a trusted authority to obtain sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 235069.

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 Application Server and Liberty contain a certificate validation vulnerability when configured to communicate with Web Server Plug-ins. An authenticated user could conduct spoofing attacks, and a man-in-the-middle attacker with a certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority could intercept sensitive information due to improper certificate chain or hostname validation.

MitigationReview and harden SSL/TLS configuration between WebSphere Application Server and Web Server Plug-ins; ensure proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification are enabled. Apply IBM security patches for the affected versions.

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 Application ServerApplication
Affected:all versions= 7.0= 8.0= 8.5= 9.0

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 WebSphere Application Server version
    Run 'About This Installation' from the admin console or check the installed version using the versionInfo command in the bin directory. Compare the installed version to 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, or 9.0.
    Affected if The installed version is any of 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, or 9.0, or if it falls within these major version lines.
  2. Confirm Web Server Plug-in configuration
    Locate the plugin-cfg.xml configuration file typically found in the config/cells directory or the Web Server Plug-in installation directory. Check if this file exists and is referenced in the WebSphere configuration.
    Affected if A plugin-cfg.xml file exists and WebSphere is configured to route traffic through Web Server Plug-ins.
  3. Examine SSL/TLS configuration for plug-in communication
    Access the WebSphere admin console and navigate to Security > SSL certificate and key management > SSL configurations. Identify configurations used for Web Server Plug-in communication and review the Trust store settings.
    Affected if SSL configurations for plug-in communication are defined and point to a specific trust store.
  4. Check certificate chain validation setting
    In the SSL configuration panel, locate the 'Certificate validation' or 'Validate certificates' setting. Determine if certificate chain validation is enabled or disabled for the plug-in endpoint.
    Affected if Certificate chain validation is disabled or set to 'None' for the SSL configuration used with Web Server Plug-ins.
  5. Verify hostname verification configuration
    Find the hostname verification setting within the SSL configuration used for Web Server Plug-in connections. Common locations include the 'Hostname verification' dropdown or the advanced SSL settings.
    Affected if Hostname verification is set to 'None' or is disabled for the SSL configuration communicating with Web Server Plug-ins.

The environment is affected if WebSphere Application Server versions 7.0-9.0 are configured to communicate with Web Server Plug-ins and either certificate chain validation or hostname verification is disabled in the related SSL configuration.

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

Review and harden SSL/TLS configuration between WebSphere Application Server and Web Server Plug-ins; ensure proper certificate chain validation and hostname verification are enabled. Apply IBM security patches for the affected versions.

Fix this in Websphere Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,260
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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-2022-39161 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