CVE-2023-38272
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 Cloud Pak System 2.3.3.0, 2.3.3.3, 2.3.3.3 iFix1, 2.3.3.4, 2.3.3.5, 2.3.3.6, 2.3.36 iFix1, 2.3.3.6 iFix2, 2.3.3.7, 2.3.3.7 iFix1, 2.3.4.0, and 2.3.4.1 could allow a user with access to the network to obtain sensitive information from CLI arguments.
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 · low confidenceIBM Cloud Pak System versions 2.3.3.0 through 2.3.4.1 contain a vulnerability that allows a network-adjacent user to obtain sensitive information from CLI arguments, likely exposing credentials or secrets passed via command line to the application.
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= 2.3.1.1= 2.3.3.0= 2.3.3.3= 2.3.3.4= 2.3.3.5= 2.3.3.6= 2.3.3.7= 2.3.4.0= 2.3.4.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 IBM Cloud Pak System installationLocate IBM Cloud Pak System components on your infrastructure. Check for installation directories, container images, or management interfaces associated with this product.Affected if IBM Cloud Pak System is present in the environment
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Determine installed versionUse IBM Cloud Pak System management commands or check version files to identify the exact installed version. Compare against the affected versions: 2.3.1.1, 2.3.3.0, 2.3.3.3, 2.3.3.4, 2.3.3.5, 2.3.3.6, 2.3.3.7, 2.3.4.0, 2.3.4.1Affected if Installed version matches one of the affected versions listed
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Identify CLI tool usage with sensitive argumentsAudit command-line scripts, automation jobs, or manual CLI invocations that run IBM Cloud Pak System commands. Search for arguments that may contain credentials, passwords, API keys, or secrets.Affected if CLI tools are used with credentials or secrets passed as command-line arguments
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Assess network exposureEvaluate whether untrusted or network-adjacent users can access the IBM Cloud Pak System management interfaces or CLI endpoints. Check firewall rules, network policies, and access controls.Affected if Network-adjacent users without proper authentication can reach the CLI interfaces
You are affected if IBM Cloud Pak System is installed at an affected version AND CLI tools are used with sensitive arguments AND the system is accessible to untrusted network-adjacent users.
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 dataApply IBM security patches for the affected versions or implement network access controls to limit exposure to trusted users only.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38272 — 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-2023-38272 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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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.
- 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