Spectrum ScaleApplication · Ibm

CVE-2022-43843

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Scale 5.1.5.0 through 5.1.5.1 uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 239080.

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 Spectrum Scale versions 5.1.5.0 through 5.1.5.1 implements weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an authenticated attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information stored or transmitted by the system.

MitigationUpgrade to IBM Spectrum Scale version 5.1.5.2 or later which contains the fix for stronger cryptographic algorithms. If immediate upgrade is not possible, review and enforce network segmentation and access controls to limit attacker capability.

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 ScaleApplication
Affected:= 5.1.5.0= 5.1.5.1

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check IBM Spectrum Scale version
    Run the command 'mmversion' or 'ls -la /usr/lpp/SpectrumScale' to determine the installed version
    Affected if Version is 5.1.5.0 or 5.1.5.1
  2. Verify cryptographic algorithm configuration
    Inspect the Spectrum Scale configuration files in /var/mmfs or /usr/lpp/spectrumscale for cipher and key settings. Check files such as mmfs.cfg or any custom cryptographic policy files
    Affected if Weak or legacy cryptographic algorithms (such as MD5, SHA1, or deprecated ciphers) are configured or enabled in the system
  3. Check if encryption features are active
    Run 'mmencrypt' or 'mmfsadm' commands to check if data-at-rest encryption or TLS/SSL encryption is enabled for the cluster
    Affected if Encryption is enabled and the system is running an affected version (5.1.5.0-5.1.5.1)
  4. Inspect SSL/TLS cipher configuration
    Review the cipher suites configured for Spectrum Scale communication using 'mmchconfig' or check the /tmp/mmsslconfig file for the enabled cipher list
    Affected if The cipher list contains weak algorithms such as 3DES, RC4, or NULL encryption

You are affected if IBM Spectrum Scale version 5.1.5.0 or 5.1.5.1 is installed AND cryptographic features (encryption at rest or in transit) are enabled using weaker algorithms.

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

Upgrade to IBM Spectrum Scale version 5.1.5.2 or later which contains the fix for stronger cryptographic algorithms. If immediate upgrade is not possible, review and enforce network segmentation and access controls to limit attacker capability.

Fix this in Spectrum Scale Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-43843 — 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-2022-43843 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