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Aspera FaspexApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-35907

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.0.10 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Aspera Faspex 5.0.0 through 5.0.10 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts.

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 confidence

IBM Aspera Faspex versions 5.0.0 through 5.0.10 ships with a default configuration that does not enforce strong password requirements, allowing weak or easily guessable passwords to be set for user accounts, which increases the risk of credential-based attacks.

MitigationEnable and configure strong password complexity requirements in the Faspex administrative console, and enforce password expiration policies to require periodic password changes.

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
Aspera FaspexApplication
Affected:>= 5.0.0, <= 5.0.10

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Faspex version
    Run the command 'ascli faspex --version' or check the installation directory for version information. On Linux, common paths include /opt/aspera/faspex/ or check the RPM/DEB package version.
    Affected if Version is 5.0.0 through 5.0.10 inclusive
  2. Access Faspex administrative console password policy
    Log into the Faspex admin console (typically https://hostname/aspera/faspex/admin) and navigate to Settings > Password Policy or Security > Password Requirements. Check if strong password complexity is enabled.
    Affected if Strong password complexity requirements are disabled or not configured in the password policy settings
  3. Verify password policy configuration file
    Inspect the Faspex configuration file (typically located at /opt/aspera/faspex/config/faspex.yml or within the etc directory). Look for password-related settings such as 'min_password_length', 'password_complexity', or similar parameters.
    Affected if Configuration file shows weak or no password complexity rules (e.g., min_password_length is absent, set to low value, or password_complexity is disabled)
  4. Check default configuration in use
    Review whether the system is using the default Aspera Faspex configuration without custom password policy hardening applied.
    Affected if Default configuration is in use and password policy has not been explicitly hardened

Affected if running Faspex version 5.0.0-5.0.10 AND password strength enforcement is not enabled in the administrative console or configuration files.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.0.10
Interim mitigation

Enable and configure strong password complexity requirements in the Faspex administrative console, and enforce password expiration policies to require periodic password changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to IBM Aspera Faspex 5.0.11 or later (refer to IBM security bulletin for exact fixed version)

  1. 1. Check the current IBM Aspera Faspex version by navigating to the admin interface or using the CLI: faspmanager --version
  2. 2. Review IBM's official security bulletin for CVE-2023-35907 at www.ibm.com to identify the specific fixed release
  3. 3. Before upgrading, backup the current Faspex configuration and database
  4. 4. Upgrade to the fixed release (5.0.11 or later as indicated by IBM) following standard IBM upgrade procedures
  5. 5. After upgrade, verify the password policy is now enforced by default by creating a test user with a weak password
  6. 6. Confirm strong password requirements are active in the admin console under Security or User Management settings
Caveat Standard upgrade risks apply - review IBM release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between 5.0.0-5.0.10 and the fixed release

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

Fix this in Aspera Faspex Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

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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-2023-35907 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