CVE-2023-40371
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 AIX 7.2, 7.3, VIOS 3.1's OpenSSH implementation could allow a non-privileged local user to access files outside of those allowed due to improper access controls. IBM X-Force ID: 263476.
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 AIX 7.2, 7.3, and VIOS 3.1 ship with an OpenSSH implementation that contains improper access control checks. A non-privileged local user can exploit this vulnerability to access files outside their permitted scope, potentially reading sensitive system files or configurations they should not have access to.
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= 3.1= 7.2= 7.3CVSS 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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Verify the AIX or VIOS versionRun 'oslevel -s' on the system to obtain the full version string (e.g., TL/SP level)Affected if The version string begins with 7200 (AIX 7.2) or 7300 (AIX 7.3) or the system is VIOS 3.1 (check with 'oem_level' or 'ioslevel')
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Confirm OpenSSH is installedRun 'lslpp -l | grep -i openssh' to list installed OpenSSH packagesAffected if OpenSSH packages (such as openssh.base.server or openssh.client) are installed on the system
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Check OpenSSH package version and patch levelRun 'lslpp -l openssh.base.server' and note the revision number shown in the outputAffected if The OpenSSH version shown does not include the IBM security fix for this CVE (compare against IBM's published patch level for CVE-2023-40371)
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Verify if the security fix is appliedRun 'instfix -i -k CVE-2023-40371' or 'instfix -i | grep -i CVE-2023-40371' to check if the specific fix is installedAffected if The command returns no output or indicates the fix is not installed
A system is affected if it runs AIX 7.2, AIX 7.3, or VIOS 3.1 with an unpatched OpenSSH installation that lacks IBM's security fix for CVE-2023-40371.
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's security patches for AIX and VIOS that address the OpenSSH access control flaw. Verify file permissions on sensitive system files and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40371 — 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-2023-40371 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