ViosApplication · Ibm

CVE-2024-27273

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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 AIX's Unix domain (AIX 7.2, 7.3, VIOS 3.1, and VIOS 4.1) datagram socket implementation could potentially expose applications using Unix domain datagram sockets with SO_PEERID operation and may lead to privilege escalation. IBM X-Force ID: 284903.

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 AIX contains a vulnerability in its Unix domain datagram socket implementation where the SO_PEERID socket operation may improperly expose or allow manipulation of peer process credentials. This could enable a local attacker to escalate privileges by spoofing or manipulating the peer identity information returned by the socket operation.

MitigationApply IBM's interim fix (APAR) for this vulnerability to affected AIX 7.2, 7.3, VIOS 3.1, and VIOS 4.1 systems. IBM X-Force ID 284903 corresponds to the official patch. Verify that Unix domain datagram sockets using SO_PEERID operate correctly after patching.

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
ViosApplication
Affected:= 3.1= 4.1
AixOperating system
Affected:= 7.2= 7.3

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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. Check AIX or VIOS version
    Run 'oslevel -s' on AIX or 'ioslevel' on VIOS to get the exact version number
    Affected if The version is exactly 7.2.x or 7.3.x for AIX, or exactly 3.1.x or 4.1.x for VIOS
  2. Identify processes using Unix domain datagram sockets
    Use 'netstat -Aan' or 'ss -x' to list Unix domain sockets and identify datagram (dgram) type sockets. Filter for socket type SOCK_DGRAM
    Affected if Any datagram Unix domain sockets are in use on the system
  3. Detect SO_PEERID socket option usage
    Review application source code or use 'procwatch' or 'truss' to trace socket-related system calls (getsockopt with SO_PEERID) in running processes
    Affected if Applications or processes are actively using the SO_PEERID socket option on Unix domain sockets
  4. Check for privilege escalation indicators
    Review system audit logs and process accounting for unusual SO_PEERID calls or credential manipulation attempts using 'auditpr' or system logs in /var/adm
    Affected if Any anomalous SO_PEERID calls or unauthorized credential changes are observed in logs

The system is affected if it runs AIX 7.2/7.3 or VIOS 3.1/4.1 and uses Unix domain datagram sockets with the SO_PEERID socket option, as the vulnerability lies in the OS socket implementation for these specific versions.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM's interim fix (APAR) for this vulnerability to affected AIX 7.2, 7.3, VIOS 3.1, and VIOS 4.1 systems. IBM X-Force ID 284903 corresponds to the official patch. Verify that Unix domain datagram sockets using SO_PEERID operate correctly after patching.

Fix this in Vios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-27273 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
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