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Ds8900f FirmwareOperating system · Ibm

CVE-2023-46172

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
IBM DS8900F HMC 89.21.19.0, 89.21.31.0, 89.30.68.0, 89.32.40.0, and 89.33.48.0 could allow a remote attacker to bypass authentication restrictions for authorized user. IBM X-Force ID: 269409.

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 confidence

IBM DS8900F HMC versions 89.21.19.0, 89.21.31.0, 89.30.68.0, 89.32.40.0, and 89.33.48.0 contain an authentication bypass vulnerability that could allow a remote attacker to circumvent authentication restrictions for authorized users, potentially gaining unauthorized access to the storage system management console.

MitigationApply IBM-supplied patches or firmware updates for the DS8900F HMC. Until patches are available, restrict network access to the HMC management interfaces using firewall rules or network segmentation, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

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
Ds8900f FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 89.22.19.0= 89.30.68.0= 89.32.40.0= 89.33.48.0

CVSS 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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm IBM DS8900F HMC is in use
    Identify if your storage system is an IBM DS8900F and locate its Hardware Management Console (HMC) interface. This is typically accessed via a dedicated management network port on the DS8900F enclosure.
    Affected if The environment uses an IBM DS8900F storage system with HMC management capabilities.
  2. Check HMC firmware version
    Access the HMC management console (usually through a web interface or CLI) and retrieve the firmware version. This is typically found in the HMC system information or version details panel. Compare the installed version against the affected list: 89.22.19.0, 89.30.68.0, 89.32.40.0, 89.33.48.0 (or 89.21.19.0, 89.21.31.0 if those variants exist in your deployment).
    Affected if The installed HMC firmware version matches one of the affected versions listed.
  3. Verify HMC network accessibility
    Determine if the HMC management interface is reachable from network segments outside the trusted management network. Check firewall rules, VLAN configuration, and any exposed IP addresses for the HMC web or management ports.
    Affected if The HMC interface is accessible from untrusted networks or the internet, making the authentication bypass remotely exploitable.

You are affected if your IBM DS8900F HMC runs any of the firmware versions 89.22.19.0, 89.30.68.0, 89.32.40.0, or 89.33.48.0 AND the HMC management interface is network-accessible to potential attackers.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM-supplied patches or firmware updates for the DS8900F HMC. Until patches are available, restrict network access to the HMC management interfaces using firewall rules or network segmentation, and monitor for unauthorized access attempts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM DS8900F firmware later than 89.33.48.0 (contact IBM support for exact fixed version)

  1. 1. Identify the current firmware version of the IBM DS8900F HMC by accessing the HMC management interface.
  2. 2. Navigate to IBM Support portal or IBM Fix Central to obtain the latest IBM DS8900F firmware security patches.
  3. 3. Download the patched firmware version (ensure version is higher than the affected versions 89.21.x, 89.22.x, 89.30.x, 89.32.x, 89.33.x).
  4. 4. Follow IBM's standard firmware update procedure for DS8900F, which typically requires scheduling a maintenance window.
  5. 5. Upload the firmware package through the HMC interface using the firmware update function.
  6. 6. Verify the update was successful by confirming the new firmware version in the HMC.
  7. 7. Validate that authentication mechanisms are functioning correctly after the update.
Caveat Firmware updates may require downtime; test in non-production environment first

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ds8900f Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-46172 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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