CVE-2023-38281
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 does not set the secure attribute on authorization tokens or session cookies. Attackers may be able to get the cookie values by sending a http:// link to a user or by planting this link in a site the user goes to. The cookie will be sent to the insecure link and the attacker can then obtain the cookie value by snooping the traffic.
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 confidenceIBM Cloud Pak System fails to set the 'Secure' attribute on authorization tokens and session cookies during their creation. Without this attribute, browsers will transmit these cookies over unencrypted HTTP connections, enabling attackers to intercept session credentials by tricking users into visiting HTTP links or by sniffing network traffic.
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= 2.3.4.0= 2.3.4.1= 2.3.5.0= 2.3.6.0= 4.0.4.0= 4.0.5.0= 4.0.6.0= 4.0.7.0= 5.0.0.0= 5.0.1.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 installed IBM Cloud Pak System versionRun 'ibmcloud cpfs version' or check the platform console for the installed version under System > About or similar administration panelAffected if Version matches 2.3.4.0, 2.3.4.1, 2.3.5.0, or 2.3.6.0
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Identify IBM OS Image for Red Hat Linux versionRun 'cat /etc/redhat-release' or check the system information panel in the administration consoleAffected if Version matches 4.0.4.0 through 5.0.1.0 (any of: 4.0.4.0, 4.0.5.0, 4.0.6.0, 4.0.7.0, 5.0.0.0, 5.0.1.0)
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Inspect Set-Cookie headers for Secure flagUse browser developer tools (Network tab) or a proxy tool to capture HTTP responses during login/authentication. Look for Set-Cookie headers for session or authorization cookies and verify if the 'Secure' attribute is presentAffected if Session or authorization cookies are set without the Secure attribute (e.g., 'Set-Cookie: session=xyz; Secure' is missing the Secure flag)
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Verify cookie transmission over HTTPAccess the IBM Cloud Pak System login or authenticated pages over HTTP (not HTTPS) and use browser tools or a packet capture to observe if cookies are being sent in the requestAffected if Cookies are transmitted when accessing the application over an unencrypted HTTP connection
If the installed version matches the affected list AND session/authorization cookies lack the Secure attribute in Set-Cookie headers, the environment is vulnerable to cookie interception over HTTP.
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 dataConfigure the web/application server to set the 'Secure' flag on all session and authorization cookies, typically via session configuration or Set-Cookie headers, ensuring cookies are only transmitted over HTTPS connections.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-38281 — 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-2023-38281 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data