CVE-2023-38368
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 Security Access Manager Docker 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.7.1 could disclose sensitive information to a local user to do improper permission controls. IBM X-Force ID: 261195.
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 confidenceIBM Security Access Manager Docker versions 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.7.1 contains improper permission controls that allow a local user to access sensitive information. The vulnerability requires local access and low privileges, with high confidentiality impact but no integrity or availability impact.
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>= 10.0.0.0, <= 10.0.7.1CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 the installed IBM Security Access Manager Docker versionRun 'docker images' or inspect the container metadata to find the image tag/version. Alternatively, inside the container, check for version files or run 'docker inspect <container_id>' to view version labels.Affected if The version is 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.7.1 inclusive.
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Verify the environment is a Docker containerConfirm the application is running inside a Docker container by checking for /.dockerenv file, container runtime files in /proc/1/cgroup, or using 'docker inspect' on the running container.Affected if The application is running as a Docker container (this vulnerability affects Docker deployments specifically).
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Inspect file system permissions on configuration directoriesInside the container, use 'ls -la' to examine permissions on common sensitive directories such as /opt, /var, /config, or any directory containing IBM ISAM configuration files. Look for permissions that allow world-readable or group-readable access.Affected if Configuration or data directories are readable by low-privilege or unauthorized users (permissions like 755, 644, or group-readable without justification).
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Check for world-readable sensitive filesSearch for files containing credentials, keys, or sensitive data using commands like 'find / -perm -004 -type f 2>/dev/null' or specifically check files in /opt/ibm, /var/opt, or config paths. Verify if sensitive files have overly permissive access modes.Affected if Sensitive files (config files with passwords, keystores, private keys) have permissions allowing access by any local user (world-readable).
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Verify user isolation within the containerCheck which user the container is running as using 'whoami' or 'id' inside the container. Review if the container runs as root or a privileged user versus an unprivileged ISAM-specific user.Affected if The container runs as root or allows low-privilege users to access files they should not have permission to read.
The environment is affected if IBM Security Access Manager Docker version 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.7.1 is installed AND the container file system permissions allow unauthorized local users to read sensitive configuration or data files.
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 any available IBM security patches for this version range. If no patch exists, review and restrict file system permissions within the Docker container to ensure proper access controls prevent unauthorized local users from reading sensitive data.
- 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-2023-38368 — 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-2023-38368 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
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