CVE-2023-33860
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 Security QRadar EDR 3.12 does not set the secure attribute on authorization tokens or session cookies. Attackers may be able to get the cookie values by sending a http:// link to a user or by planting this link in a site the user goes to. The cookie will be sent to the insecure link and the attacker can then obtain the cookie value by snooping the traffic.
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 Security QRadar EDR 3.12 fails to set the 'Secure' attribute on session cookies and authorization tokens. When cookies lack this flag, they can be transmitted over insecure HTTP connections, allowing attackers to intercept them by tricking users into visiting HTTP links or planting links on websites the user visits, enabling session hijacking.
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= 3.12CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 QRadar EDR installation and versionLocate the QRadar EDR installation directory and check the version file or use the product's version command. Common locations include /opt/qradar, /opt/ibm, or the program's installation folder. Look for a version.txt, about screen, or use 'qradar_edr --version' if available.Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.12 (or falls within the affected version range)
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Capture and inspect HTTP response headersMake an authenticated request to the QRadar EDR web interface or API over HTTP (port 80). Use a web browser's developer tools, curl -I http://[qradar-edr-host]/, or a packet capture tool like Wireshark to capture the response headers.Affected if Any Set-Cookie header in the response lacks the 'Secure' attribute (the header shows cookie without the ; Secure flag)
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Verify cookie transmission over HTTPConfigure a network trace or proxy to intercept traffic between the client and QRadar EDR over an HTTP connection. Submit login credentials and observe whether cookies are sent in the response over the unencrypted channel.Affected if Cookies or authorization tokens are received over an HTTP response without the Secure flag set
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Check configuration for Secure cookie flagExamine the QRadar EDR configuration files for session management settings. Look for parameters controlling cookie attributes, typically in files named session.conf, security.properties, web.xml, or similar under the configuration directory.Affected if The cookie configuration lacks a 'secure=true' or 'Secure=true' directive for session cookies
A user is affected if they are running QRadar EDR version 3.12 and can receive session cookies or authorization tokens over HTTP connections without the Secure attribute set, allowing potential interception.
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 dataConfigure all session cookies and authorization tokens to include the Secure attribute, ensuring they are only transmitted over HTTPS connections and cannot be exposed over HTTP.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-33860 — 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-2023-33860 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data