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Spectrum Scale Container Native Storage AccessApplication · Ibm

CVE-2022-43831

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1.6.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Storage Scale Container Native Storage Access 5.1.2.1 through 5.1.6.1 could allow a local user to obtain escalated privileges on a host without proper security context settings configured. IBM X-Force ID: 238941.

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 Storage Scale Container Native Storage Access versions 5.1.2.1 through 5.1.6.1 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where improper security context configuration in container deployments allows a local user to gain elevated privileges on the underlying host system.

MitigationConfigure proper Pod Security Context and container Security Context settings with least-privilege principles, ensuring containers run with non-root users, dropped capabilities, and read-only root filesystems where possible, following IBM's security hardening guidelines.

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 Scale Container Native Storage AccessApplication
Affected:>= 5.1.2.1, <= 5.1.6.1

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
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 checks

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

  1. Check the installed version of IBM Spectrum Scale Container Native Storage Access
    Run 'ibm-spectrum-scale version' or check the operator deployment version: 'kubectl get deployment -n <namespace>' and look for the scalecontaineraccess or related operator version
    Affected if The installed version falls within 5.1.2.1 through 5.1.6.1 (inclusive)
  2. Identify containers running in the IBM Spectrum Scale namespace
    Run 'kubectl get pods -A | grep -i scale' to find IBM Spectrum Scale pods, then describe each: 'kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>'
    Affected if Containers from IBM Spectrum Scale Container Native Storage Access are running in the cluster
  3. Verify container security context for privileged mode
    Run 'kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath={.spec.containers[*].securityContext.privileged}' for each scale pod
    Affected if Any container returns 'true' for privileged mode - this allows full host access and enables privilege escalation
  4. Check if containers run as root user
    Run 'kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath={.spec.securityContext.runAsUser}' and 'kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath={.spec.containers[*].securityContext.runAsUser}'
    Affected if Any container shows runAsUser set to 0 (root) or runAsUser is not set and containers have write access to sensitive host paths
  5. Review excessive capabilities assigned to containers
    Run 'kubectl get pod <pod-name> -n <namespace> -o jsonpath={.spec.containers[*].securityContext.capabilities.add}' for each scale pod
    Affected if Containers have capabilities like 'SYS_ADMIN', 'DAC_READ_SEARCH', 'SYS_PTRACE', 'NET_ADMIN', or other privileged capabilities added

You are affected if IBM Spectrum Scale Container Native Storage Access versions 5.1.2.1-5.1.6.1 is installed AND any containers in the scale deployment run with privileged mode, as root user, or with elevated capabilities that allow host privilege escalation.

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 5.1.6.1
Interim mitigation

Configure proper Pod Security Context and container Security Context settings with least-privilege principles, ensuring containers run with non-root users, dropped capabilities, and read-only root filesystems where possible, following IBM's security hardening guidelines.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to version 5.1.7.0 or later

  1. Upgrade IBM Storage Scale Container Native Storage Access to a version beyond 5.1.6.1 (e.g., 5.1.7.0 or later) to resolve the privilege escalation vulnerability.
  2. After upgrading, verify that proper security context settings are configured for all containers according to IBM best practices.
  3. Test the upgraded environment to confirm the privilege escalation vulnerability is no longer present.
Caveat Review IBM release notes for potential compatibility or configuration changes between 5.1.6.1 and the target version

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

Fix this in Spectrum Scale Container Native Storage Access Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

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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-2022-43831 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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