CVE-2023-35895
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 JDBC Driver 4.10 and 4.50 is susceptible to remote code execution attack via JNDI injection when passing an unchecked argument to a certain API. IBM X-Force ID: 259116.
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 confidenceThe IBM Informix JDBC Driver versions 4.10 and 4.50 contain a JNDI injection vulnerability that allows remote code execution when untrusted input is passed to a specific API without proper validation. Attackers can manipulate JNDI lookup parameters to inject malicious references, potentially executing arbitrary code on affected systems.
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= 4.10= 4.50CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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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Identify IBM Informix JDBC Driver versionLocate the IBM Informix JDBC driver JAR file (typically named like ifxjdbc.jar, ifxjdbc4.jar, or similar) in your application or library directory, then check the manifest file or version metadata. In Java, you can also call Driver.getVersion() or inspect the JAR's manifest for the Implementation-Version attribute.Affected if The installed version is 4.10 or 4.50 exactly (the only affected versions listed)
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Verify JNDI lookup usage in codeSearch your codebase for JNDI-related API calls such as InitialContext.lookup(), naming.lookup(), or similar JNDI lookup methods. Review code that handles these calls to see if any parameters originate from user input, request parameters, or external data sources.Affected if Your application code passes user-controlled or external input directly to JNDI lookup methods without validation
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Check for untrusted data in JNDI contextsReview any configuration files or application logic that set up JNDI contexts or data sources using the Informix JDBC driver. Identify if attacker-controlled values could reach the lookup or naming resolution chain.Affected if User-supplied data flows into JNDI context initialization or lookup operations without sanitization
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Review network exposure of database connectionsExamine whether the Informix JDBC driver connects to database servers over network interfaces that are accessible from untrusted networks. Check firewall rules and listener configurations for the Informix server.Affected if The database connection is exposed to untrusted networks and the vulnerable driver version is in use
You are affected if your environment uses IBM Informix JDBC Driver version 4.10 or 4.50 AND your application passes unsanitized user input to JNDI lookup APIs.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of the IBM Informix JDBC Driver when available, or implement strict input validation on any user-controlled arguments passed to JNDI-related APIs. Network segmentation can reduce the attack surface for externally reachable database connections.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-35895 — 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-2023-35895 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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