Openpages With WatsonApplication · Ibm

CVE-2024-49779

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 8.3.0.3 / 9.0.0.5 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 OpenPages with Watson 8.3 and 9.0 IBM OpenPages could allow a remote attacker to bypass security restrictions, caused by improper validation and management of authentication cookies. By modifying the CSRF token and Session Id cookie parameters using the cookies of another user, a remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to bypass security restrictions and gain unauthorized access to the vulnerable application.

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 OpenPages with Watson versions 8.3 and 9.0 contain improper validation and management of authentication cookies. An attacker can modify the CSRF token and Session Id cookie parameters using another user's cookies to bypass security restrictions and gain unauthorized access to the application.

MitigationImplement proper validation and binding of authentication cookies to user sessions, ensure CSRF tokens are uniquely generated per session and validated server-side, and invalidate sessions on authentication events to prevent session fixation attacks.

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
Openpages With WatsonApplication
Affected:>= 8.3, < 8.3.0.3>= 9.0, < 9.0.0.5

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Identify the installed IBM OpenPages with Watson version
    Check the version through the web interface by navigating to the About page (typically /op/modules/about) or check the installation directory for version files. In a default installation, look in the installation root or check the OP洲.version file under the OpenPages directory structure.
    Affected if The displayed version is 8.3.x where x is less than 3, OR 9.0.x where x is less than 5 (e.g., 8.3.0.0 through 8.3.0.2, or 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.0.4)
  2. Confirm the exact version number
    Locate the precise version string in the IBM OpenPages administrative console or in the installed product information file. The version format appears as major.minor.micro (e.g., 8.3.0.2 or 9.0.0.4).
    Affected if The version matches 8.3.0.0, 8.3.0.1, or 8.3.0.2; OR 9.0.0.0, 9.0.0.1, 9.0.0.2, 9.0.0.3, or 9.0.0.4
  3. Verify the product edition
    Confirm the installation is IBM OpenPages with Watson and not a different product in the IBM governance, risk, and compliance suite.
    Affected if The product is specifically IBM OpenPages with Watson and the version falls within the ranges listed above

You are affected if IBM OpenPages with Watson is installed at version 8.3.0.0 through 8.3.0.2, or 9.0.0.0 through 9.0.0.4.

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 8.3.0.3 / 9.0.0.5 or later
Fixed in 8.3.0.39.0.0.5
Interim mitigation

Implement proper validation and binding of authentication cookies to user sessions, ensure CSRF tokens are uniquely generated per session and validated server-side, and invalidate sessions on authentication events to prevent session fixation attacks.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM OpenPages 8.3.0.3 (for 8.3.x line) or 9.0.0.5 (for 9.0.x line)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of IBM OpenPages with Watson by checking the About section in the application or using the version command-line tool.
  2. 2. For version 8.3.x: Plan an upgrade to version 8.3.0.3 or later.
  3. 3. For version 9.0.x: Plan an upgrade to version 9.0.0.5 or later.
  4. 4. Review IBM's upgrade documentation and release notes for the target version before proceeding.
  5. 5. Create a complete backup of the current IBM OpenPages environment, including database and configuration files.
  6. 6. Schedule a maintenance window to minimize business impact.
  7. 7. Perform the upgrade following IBM's official upgrade instructions for your deployment type (on-premises or hybrid).
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the application starts successfully and all services are running.
Caveat Review IBM release notes for any configuration changes or deprecated features in the target patch version before upgrading

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

Fix this in Openpages With Watson Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.

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-2024-49779 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