CVE-2023-28523
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 · uneditedIBM Informix Dynamic Server 12.10 and 14.10 onsmsync is vulnerable to a heap buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking which could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code. IBM X-Force ID: 250753.
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 confidenceIBM Informix Dynamic Server versions 12.10 and 14.10 contain a heap buffer overflow vulnerability in the onsmsync utility due to improper bounds checking. An attacker can exploit this memory corruption vulnerability to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the affected process.
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= 12.10= 14.10all versionsCVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm IBM Informix Dynamic Server installationLook for the Informix installation directory (commonly /opt/IBM/informix on Linux/Unix or C:\IBM\Informix on Windows) or run 'lsrch' for Informix-related directories. Check for the presence of oninit or other IBM Informix binaries in the environment.Affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is not found on the system, the user is not affected.
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Identify installed Informix versionCheck the installed version by examining version files in the Informix installation directory, running 'onstat -' if available, or querying the Informix registry. Common locations include $INFORMIXDIR/etc/version or $INFORMIXDIR/bin/version.txt.Affected if The installed version is 12.10.x or 14.10.x, or the product is IBM Informix Dynamic Server On Cloud Pak For Data (any version). These indicate the user may be affected.
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Locate the onsmsync utilitySearch for the onsmsync executable in the Informix bin directory (typically $INFORMIXDIR/bin/onsmsync or C:\IBM\Informix\bin\onsmsync.exe). Use 'find' on Linux/Unix or check the directory listing.Affected if The onsmsync utility is present on the system, creating a potential attack surface for exploitation.
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Verify Informix Cloud Pak For Data deploymentIf running on IBM Cloud Pak For Data, check for Informix containers or pods using 'kubectl get pods' or similar container orchestration commands, and identify if Informix Dynamic Server is deployed as part of the Cloud Pak.Affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server is deployed on Cloud Pak For Data (any version), the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
A user is affected if IBM Informix Dynamic Server version 12.10.x or 14.10.x is installed, or if Informix Dynamic Server On Cloud Pak For Data of any version is deployed, and the onsmsync utility is present in the installation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the IBM patch or upgrade to a patched version of IBM Informatic Dynamic Server. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict network access to systems running onsmsync and monitor for indicators of compromise.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28523 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-28523 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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