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Storage ScaleApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-38002

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.0.0 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 Storage Scale 5.1.0.0 through 5.1.9.2 could allow an authenticated user to steal or manipulate an active session to gain access to the system. IBM X-Force ID: 260208.

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 confidence

IBM Storage Scale versions 5.1.0.0 through 5.1.9.2 contain a session management vulnerability where an authenticated user can steal or manipulate active sessions to gain unauthorized access to the system. This is a session hijacking issue allowing privilege escalation through session token theft or manipulation.

MitigationApply IBM Storage Scale version 5.1.9.3 or later which contains the security fix. Review session management implementation and ensure proper session token handling, secure cookie attributes, and session invalidation on logout.

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
Storage ScaleApplication
Affected:>= 5.1.0.0, < 5.2.0.0

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed IBM Storage Scale version
    Run 'mmfsadm -V' or check the installed package version using the system package manager (e.g., 'rpm -q ibm-spectrum-scale'), or inspect the output of 'lsrpms' for the scale package.
    Affected if Version is 5.1.0.0 through 5.1.9.2 (any version >= 5.1.0.0 but < 5.2.0.0)
  2. Confirm session management is in use
    Determine if the system has user authentication enabled by checking if LDAP, Kerberos, or local user authentication is configured for IBM Storage Scale. Review /var/mmfs/ssl/ directory and check for session-related configuration files.
    Affected if Any form of user authentication or session-based login to IBM Storage Scale is configured or in use
  3. Inspect session token handling
    Check if the system uses session cookies or tokens for GUI or CLI authentication. Look in configuration files such as /var/mmfs/etc/* or examine cookie settings if the IBM Storage Scale GUI is accessible. Use 'mmdiag --config' to review authentication settings.
    Affected if Session tokens or cookies are generated without secure attributes (HttpOnly, Secure flags) or session IDs can be observed in logs or configurations
  4. Review active session configuration
    Examine configuration files related to session management, typically found in the IBM Storage Scale installation directory or within /var/mmfs/. Look for any custom session management implementations or third-party session handling configurations.
    Affected if Session management uses default or weak token generation, or sessions are not invalidated on logout

User is affected if IBM Storage Scale version 5.1.0.0 through 5.1.9.2 is installed and the system uses any form of authenticated sessions for user access.

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 5.2.0.0 or later
Fixed in 5.2.0.0
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM Storage Scale version 5.1.9.3 or later which contains the security fix. Review session management implementation and ensure proper session token handling, secure cookie attributes, and session invalidation on logout.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Storage Scale 5.2.0.0 or later

  1. Verify current IBM Storage Scale version using 'lsscale -V' or 'mmgetstate -a'
  2. Review IBM Storage Scale 5.2.0.0 release notes for upgrade prerequisites and known issues
  3. Ensure adequate system backup including GPFS configuration
  4. Take a snapshot or backup of critical data
  5. Follow IBM documentation for rolling upgrade or offline upgrade procedure to version 5.2.0.0 or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the fix by confirming the version is now >= 5.2.0.0
  7. Test session management functionality to confirm the session fixation vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Review release notes for potential compatibility changes between 5.1.x and 5.2.0.0, particularly regarding GPFS protocol versions and cluster interoperability

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

Fix this in Storage Scale Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2023-38002 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