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Watsonx.aiApplication · Ibm

CVE-2024-49785

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1.0 / 5.1.0 or later.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 watsonx.ai 1.1 through 2.0.3 and IBM watsonx.ai on Cloud Pak for Data 4.8 through 5.0.3 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows an authenticated user to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session.

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 watsonx.ai versions 1.1-2.0.3 and Cloud Pak for Data 4.8-5.0.3 contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web UI. An authenticated attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript code through user-supplied input that is rendered without proper sanitization, potentially enabling credential theft via session hijacking within trusted user sessions.

MitigationApply IBM's security patch for this vulnerability (upgrade to a fixed version if available) and implement strict input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data rendered in the Web UI to prevent XSS execution.

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
Watsonx.aiApplication
Affected:>= 1.1, < 2.1.0
Watsonx.ai On Cloud Pak For DataApplication
Affected:>= 4.8, < 5.1.0

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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. Identify the installed IBM product
    Run 'ibmcloud ck get' or check the product name in the IBM Cloud Pak for Data administration console. For watsonx.ai, check the deployment details via 'oc get deployments -n <namespace>' or the IBM Cloud Pak UI.
    Affected if The product is IBM watsonx.ai or Cloud Pak for Data
  2. Determine the watsonx.ai version
    In the IBM Cloud Pak for Data web console, navigate to Administration > Instances or check via CLI: 'ibmcloud cpd-cli manage get-version --assembly watsonxai' or inspect the operator deployment YAML for the version label.
    Affected if Version is 1.1 through 2.0.3 inclusive (or < 2.1.0)
  3. Determine the Cloud Pak for Data version (if applicable)
    Run 'ibmcloud cpd-cli manage get-version --assembly cloud-pak-data' or check the version in the IBM Cloud Pak for Data Administration console under System Information.
    Affected if Version is 4.8 through 5.0.3 inclusive (or < 5.1.0)
  4. Confirm Web UI access is enabled
    Verify the watsonx.ai or Cloud Pak for Data web UI service is exposed and accessible. Check via 'oc get svc -n <namespace>' and confirm the UI pod is running.
    Affected if Web UI is exposed and accessible to users
  5. Review user input fields in the Web UI
    Log into the watsonx.ai or Cloud Pak for Data Web UI and identify any fields that accept user input and display it back (such as project names, descriptions, or custom labels). These are potential injection points for stored XSS.
    Affected if User-supplied input fields exist in the UI that may not be properly sanitized

You are affected if you are running watsonx.ai versions 1.1 to < 2.1.0 or Cloud Pak for Data versions 4.8 to < 5.1.0 with the Web UI enabled and users can input data that gets rendered without sanitization.

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 2.1.0 / 5.1.0 or later
Fixed in 2.1.05.1.0
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM's security patch for this vulnerability (upgrade to a fixed version if available) and implement strict input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data rendered in the Web UI to prevent XSS execution.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

watsonx.ai: upgrade to 2.1.0 or later; watsonx.ai on Cloud Pak for Data: upgrade to 5.1.0 or later

  1. Identify which IBM product is affected: watsonx.ai or watsonx.ai on Cloud Pak for Data
  2. For watsonx.ai: Plan upgrade to version 2.1.0 or later
  3. For watsonx.ai on Cloud Pak for Data: Plan upgrade to version 5.1.0 or later
  4. Review IBM documentation for upgrade prerequisites and procedures
  5. Back up all critical data and configurations before proceeding
  6. Execute the upgrade following IBM's documented upgrade path
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful by logging into the Web UI
  8. Confirm the XSS vulnerability is no longer present in the fixed version

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

Fix this in Watsonx.ai Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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-2024-49785 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