CVE-2024-55898
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 · uneditedIBM i 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 could allow a user with the capability to compile or restore a program to gain elevated privileges due to an unqualified library call. A malicious actor could cause user-controlled code to run with administrator privilege.
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 confidenceIBM i versions 7.2-7.5 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability where users with the ability to compile or restore programs can exploit an unqualified library call to execute user-controlled code with administrator privileges. The vulnerability stems from the system's failure to fully qualify library references during program compilation or restoration processes, allowing malicious code to be loaded from user-controlled libraries instead of system libraries.
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= 7.2= 7.3= 7.4= 7.5CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify IBM i version is affectedUse the command 'DSPSYSVAL QSYSVER' or check system value QIBRVI to determine the installed IBM i version. Compare against the affected range: 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, or 7.5.Affected if The installed version is 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, or 7.5.
-
Identify users with compile or restore authorityReview user profiles with special authorities *ALLOBJ, *OBJALTER, or compile-related authorities using 'DSPUSRPRF USRPRF(*ALL) TYPE(*AUTH)'. Also check for users with authority to the QGPL library or other user-controlled libraries where malicious programs could be placed.Affected if Users with compile or restore capabilities exist in the environment, particularly those with elevated authorities.
-
Review program restoration audit recordsExamine audit journal QAUDJRN for program restoration or compilation events. Use 'DSPJRN JRN(QAUDJRN) JRNCDE(*RCD) ENTTYP(VR) STARTREC(*FIRST)' or similar commands to look for program restore (RSTOBJ) and compile (CRTxxx) activities.Affected if Unusual or unauthorized program restoration or compilation activities are present in audit logs.
-
Check for unqualified library referencesInvestigate programs that may have been compiled or restored using unqualified library calls. Use 'DSPPGM' or 'RTVCLSRC' to examine program source for library-qualified calls. Look for commands that do not specify library qualifiers (e.g., CALL PGM(MYPGM) instead of CALL PGM(LIBNAME/MYPGM)).Affected if Programs exist that use unqualified library references in compilation or restore processes.
A user is affected if their IBM i system runs version 7.2 through 7.5 and has user profiles with compile or restore capabilities that could exploit unqualified library calls.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply IBM-supplied PTFs/patches for this vulnerability when available, and in the interim restrict compile/restore capabilities to only trusted users and monitor for unauthorized program restoration activities.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-55898 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-55898 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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