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Cloud Pak For DataApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-27540

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-10
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 Watson CP4D Data Stores 4.6.0 does not properly allocate resources without limits or throttling which could allow a remote attacker with information specific to the system to cause a denial of service. IBM X-Force ID: 248924.

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 Watson CP4D Data Stores 4.6.0 lacks proper resource allocation limits or throttling mechanisms, allowing a remote attacker with system-specific knowledge to consume excessive resources and cause a denial of service condition.

MitigationImplement resource limits, quotas, and throttling controls on the IBM Watson CP4D Data Stores to restrict resource consumption per user or request, and configure appropriate timeout and connection pooling settings.

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
Cloud Pak For DataApplication
Affected:= 4.6.0
Watson Cp4d Data StoresApplication
Affected:all versions

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 Cloud Pak for Data version
    Run the Cloud Pak for Data version command (e.g., 'cpd-cli status' or check the operator/crd version)
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.6.0
  2. Identify IBM Watson CP4D Data Stores version
    Check the installed version of the Watson CP4D Data Stores component via the CPD CLI or in the operator manifest
    Affected if Any version of Watson CP4D Data Stores is installed (all versions are affected)
  3. Check for resource quota configuration
    Inspect the Kubernetes resource quotas or IBM Cloud Pak for Data resource settings defined in the namespace where Data Stores is deployed
    Affected if No resource quotas are defined, or quotas allow unlimited/unbounded resource consumption per user or request
  4. Check for throttling controls
    Review the Data Stores configuration for rate limiting, request throttling, or connection pooling settings
    Affected if No throttling mechanisms or rate limits are configured on the Data Stores service
  5. Check for timeout settings
    Inspect the Data Stores deployment or service configuration for timeout parameters
    Affected if No request timeouts or connection timeout settings are defined

You are affected if you are running IBM Cloud Pak for Data 4.6.0 or any version of Watson CP4D Data Stores AND resource limits, throttling, or timeout configurations are not implemented.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement resource limits, quotas, and throttling controls on the IBM Watson CP4D Data Stores to restrict resource consumption per user or request, and configure appropriate timeout and connection pooling settings.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence
  1. 1. Navigate to IBM Support and search for IBM Security Bulletin related to CVE-2023-27540 (IBM X-Force ID: 248924).
  2. 2. Locate the applicable fix for Watson CP4D Data Stores version 4.6.0 or your currently installed version.
  3. 3. Download the IBM interim fix (APAR) or security patch as indicated in the security bulletin.
  4. 4. Follow IBM's standard process for applying interim fixes to Cloud Pak for Data, which typically involves using the IBM Cloud Pak for Data Operator and applying the fix through the OCP console or oc CLI.
  5. 5. After applying the fix, verify the patch was successfully installed by checking the operator status and confirming the fix version.

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

Fix this in Cloud Pak For Data Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2023-27540 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