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Java Software Development KitApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-38264

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.1.5.22 / 8.0.8.25 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition's Object Request Broker (ORB) 7.1.0.0 through 7.1.5.21 and 8.0.0.0 through 8.0.8.21 is vulnerable to a denial of service attack in some circumstances due to improper enforcement of the JEP 290 MaxRef and MaxDepth deserialization filters. IBM X-Force ID: 260578.

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

The IBM SDK Java Technology Edition's Object Request Broker (ORB) versions 7.1.0.0-7.1.5.21 and 8.0.0.0-8.0.8.21 fails to properly enforce JEP 290 deserialization filters, specifically the MaxRef and MaxDepth limits. This improper enforcement allows attackers to craft malicious serialized objects that can cause denial of service by exhausting resources or triggering excessive recursion during deserialization.

MitigationUpdate the IBM SDK Java Technology Edition to a version beyond 7.1.5.21 or 8.0.8.21 that contains the fix for proper JEP 290 filter enforcement, or implement application-level deserialization filters as a compensating control.

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
Java Software Development KitApplication
Affected:>= 7.1.0.0, < 7.1.5.22>= 8.0.0.0, < 8.0.8.25

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 IBM Java SDK installation
    Run `java -version` and look for 'IBM' or 'J9' in the output, or check for IBM Java installation paths such as /opt/ibm/java/ or C:\Program Files\IBM\Java on Windows
    Affected if The output shows IBM Java rather than Oracle/OpenJDK
  2. Determine the exact IBM Java version
    Run `java -version 2>&1` and parse the full version string (e.g., 7.1.5.21 or 8.0.8.21), or use the IBM SDK's versionInfo tool if available in the bin directory
    Affected if The version falls within 7.1.0.0 to 7.1.5.21 or 8.0.0.0 to 8.0.8.21
  3. Verify if Java deserialization or ORB is in use
    Search application code and configuration for usage of ObjectInputStream, javax.orb, org.omg.CORBA, or serialized data handling. Check application logs and startup scripts for ORB-related initialization
    Affected if The application uses Java serialization, CORBA/ORB interfaces, or processes serialized data from untrusted sources
  4. Confirm JEP 290 deserialization filters are applied
    Review application code for explicit calls to ObjectInputFilter.Config.setSerialFilter or check JVM startup arguments for -Djdk.serialFilter system property
    Affected if No deserialization filter is configured and the version is within the affected range

You are affected if you are running IBM Java SDK versions 7.1.0.0-7.1.5.21 or 8.0.0.0-8.0.8.21 AND your application uses Java serialization or CORBA/ORB functionality to process serialized data.

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 7.1.5.22 / 8.0.8.25 or later
Fixed in 7.1.5.228.0.8.25
Interim mitigation

Update the IBM SDK Java Technology Edition to a version beyond 7.1.5.21 or 8.0.8.21 that contains the fix for proper JEP 290 filter enforcement, or implement application-level deserialization filters as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM SDK Java Technology Edition 7.1.5.22+ or 8.0.8.25+ (depending on major version in use)

  1. 1. Identify the current IBM SDK Java version in use by running: java -version
  2. 2. For IBM SDK 7.1.x: Upgrade to version 7.1.5.22 or later by downloading from IBM Fix Central or your IBM entitlement
  3. 3. For IBM SDK 8.0.x: Upgrade to version 8.0.8.25 or later by downloading from IBM Fix Central or your IBM entitlement
  4. 4. Replace the existing IBM SDK installation with the new version
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by running: java -version
  6. 6. Test application functionality to ensure the upgrade does not break existing operations
  7. 7. If using Java deserialization, ensure proper security configurations are in place per JEP 290 recommendations

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

Fix this in Java Software Development Kit Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
Get the upgrade done

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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-2023-38264 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