CVE-2023-40687
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 DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (includes Db2 Connect Server) 10.5, 11.1, and 11.5 is vulnerable to denial of service with a specially crafted RUNSTATS command on an 8TB table. IBM X-Force ID: 264809.
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 DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows versions 10.5, 11.1, and 11.5 contains a denial of service vulnerability triggered by a specially crafted RUNSTATS command when executed against an 8TB table. The RUNSTATS command collects database statistics for the query optimizer, and the malformed command causes a service interruption.
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<= 10.5.0.11>= 11.1.0.0, <= 11.1.4.7>= 11.5, <= 11.5.9CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify DB2 versionRun 'db2level' or query 'SELECT SERVICE_LEVEL FROM SYSIBM.SYSENV' to retrieve the installed DB2 version and compare it against the affected ranges: 10.5.0.11 and lower; 11.1.0.0 through 11.1.4.7; or 11.5.0.0 through 11.5.9Affected if The installed version matches any of these ranges
-
Find large tablesQuery the system catalog using 'SELECT TABSCHEMA, TABNAME, CARD * (AVGCOLLEN + 25) as EST_SIZE_BYTES FROM SYSCAT.TABLES WHERE TYPE = 'T' ORDER BY 3 DESC' or ADMIN_GET_TAB_INFO to identify tables that may be approaching 8TB in sizeAffected if Tables of approximately 8TB exist in the database
-
Check RUNSTATS privilegesQuery 'SELECT GRANTEE, TABNAME, PRIVILEGE from SYSCAT.TABPRIVILEGES where PRIVILEGE = 'R'' to see which users or roles have RUNSTATS authority on large tablesAffected if Users other than DB2 administrators have RUNSTATS privileges on large tables
Your environment is affected if the installed DB2 version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND tables of approximately 8TB exist that can be targeted with a crafted RUNSTATS command.
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 the IBM patch for CVE-2023-40687 when available. Restrict execution of the RUNSTATS command to authorized DB2 administrators only, and monitor for anomalous RUNSTATS operations on large tables.
- 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-2023-40687 — 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-2023-40687 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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