CVE-2023-33850
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 GSKit-Crypto could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by a timing-based side channel in the RSA Decryption implementation. By sending an overly large number of trial messages for decryption, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information.
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 confidenceIBM GSKit-Crypto contains a timing-based side channel vulnerability in its RSA Decryption implementation. An attacker can exploit this by sending numerous trial decryption messages and measuring timing differences to extract sensitive information, potentially recovering plaintext or cryptographic keys.
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= 8.1= 9.1= 8.2= 11.1= 10.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed IBM productRun product-specific command or check installed software to determine if IBM TxSeries For Multiplatform or IBM CICS TX is present. For TxSeries, use 'lslpp -l' on AIX or 'rpm -qa' on Linux. For CICS TX, check the installation directory or use product-specific commands.Affected if The system has IBM TxSeries For Multiplatform (versions 8.1, 8.2, or 9.1) or IBM CICS TX (versions 10.1 or 11.1) installed.
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Verify product versionCheck the exact version of the installed IBM product. For TxSeries, use 'lslpp -l | grep txseries' or check the version file in the installation directory. For CICS TX, use 'cicsstatus -v' or check version information in the installation path.Affected if The installed version matches 8.1, 8.2, or 9.1 for TxSeries, or 10.1 or 11.1 for CICS TX.
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Confirm GSKit-Crypto is in useCheck if GSKit-Crypto libraries are present on the system. Look for files named 'gskit' or ' GSKit' in the product installation directories or system library paths. On AIX, check '/usr/opt/ifor/'. On Linux, check '/opt/ibm/'.Affected if GSKit-Crypto libraries are loaded or used by the IBM product.
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Determine RSA decryption usageReview application configuration and logs to identify if RSA decryption operations are performed. Check application configuration files for RSA key usage or TLS/SSL configuration that may trigger RSA decryption.Affected if The system performs RSA decryption operations using GSKit-Crypto, exposing the timing side channel.
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Inspect cryptographic configurationExamine SSL/TLS configuration files and key management settings within the IBM product. Look for cipher suites using RSA key exchange or RSA decryption in the product configuration.Affected if SSL/TLS or cryptographic settings enable RSA-based decryption operations.
A system is affected if it runs IBM TxSeries For Multiplatform (8.1, 8.2, or 9.1) or IBM CICS TX (10.1 or 11.1) and performs RSA decryption operations using GSKit-Crypto.
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 vendor patch for GSKit-Crypto when available. In the interim, implement rate limiting on decryption operations and monitor for unusual patterns of decryption requests to reduce the attack surface.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-33850 — 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-2023-33850 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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