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Websphere Application ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-50312

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 24.0.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.2 could provide weaker than expected security for outbound TLS connections caused by a failure to honor user configuration. IBM X-Force ID: 274711.

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 confidence

IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.2 contains a flaw where outbound TLS connections fail to honor user-defined security configurations, potentially resulting in weaker encryption or improper certificate validation than the administrator expects.

MitigationApply the IBM fix for this vulnerability (either upgrade beyond 24.0.0.2 or obtain the specific patch from IBM) and verify that outbound TLS connections now correctly enforce the configured security requirements.

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
Websphere Application ServerApplication
Affected:>= 17.0.0.3, < 24.0.0.3

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Check installed WebSphere Liberty version
    Run the Liberty 'version' command from the install directory, or inspect the lib/versions/websphereliberty.jar manifest file for the Implementation-Version attribute
    Affected if The version is 17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.2 (versions below 17.0.0.3 or at or above 24.0.0.3 are not affected)
  2. Identify outbound TLS-configured applications or services
    Review the server.xml file for any outbound HTTP client configurations, web service clients, or remote EJB calls that use SSL/TLS. Look for elements such as httpClient with sslRef, webservices-bindings, or any outbound connection definitions referencing an sslRef
    Affected if The server.xml contains any outbound connection configurations that reference SSL settings (sslRef) - the vulnerability only affects outbound TLS connections, not inbound listeners
  3. Verify custom SSL security configurations exist
    Inspect server.xml for custom SSL configurations such as ssl element definitions, keyStore entries with custom settings, or sslRef pointing to non-default security settings
    Affected if Custom SSL configuration is defined (the flaw causes these user-defined configurations to be ignored for outbound connections)
  4. Test outbound TLS connection behavior
    Use a tool like openssl s_client or a custom Java test client to connect to an outbound TLS endpoint and verify the negotiated cipher suite and certificate validation behavior matches the configured ssl settings in server.xml
    Affected if The negotiated cipher or certificate validation differs from what the ssl configuration specifies - for example, a weaker cipher is used than allowed, or certificate validation fails when it should succeed (or vice versa) based on the defined policy

You are affected if you run WebSphere Liberty 17.0.0.3-24.0.0.2 AND use outbound TLS connections with custom security configurations, where the actual TLS behavior differs from your defined configuration.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 24.0.0.3 or later
Fixed in 24.0.0.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM fix for this vulnerability (either upgrade beyond 24.0.0.2 or obtain the specific patch from IBM) and verify that outbound TLS connections now correctly enforce the configured security requirements.

Recommended fix High confidence

WebSphere Application Server Liberty 24.0.0.3 or later

  1. Review the current WebSphere Application Server Liberty installation and confirm the exact version (17.0.0.3 through 24.0.0.2)
  2. Obtain the IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty 24.0.0.3 or later installation package from IBM Fix Central or your authorized IBM representative
  3. Follow IBM's standard upgrade procedure for WebSphere Application Server Liberty to install version 24.0.0.3 or newer
  4. After upgrade, verify that outbound TLS connections now honor user configuration as expected
  5. Test that custom TLS configurations are being applied correctly to outbound connections
  6. Validate that stronger cryptographic algorithms are being used for outbound TLS connections
Caveat Review IBM's migration and compatibility documentation for WebSphere Application Server Liberty 24.x to check for any compatibility changes from earlier versions

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

Fix this in Websphere Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,950
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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-2023-50312 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