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App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers OperandsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-13490

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.20.1 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 App Connect Operator versions CD 11.3.0 through 11.6.0 and 12.1.0 through 12.20.0, LTS versions 12.0.0 through 12.0.20, and IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers Operands versions CD 12.0.11.2‑r1 through 12.0.12.5‑r1 and 13.0.1.0‑r1 through 13.0.6.1‑r1, and LTS versions 12.0.12‑r1 through 12.0.12‑r20, contain a vulnerability in which the IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Container transmits data in clear text, potentially allowing an attacker to intercept and obtain sensitive information through man‑in‑the‑middle techniques.

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 App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers transmit data in clear text (unencrypted) rather than using TLS/SSL encryption. An attacker positioned on the network path could perform man-in-the-middle attacks to intercept and obtain sensitive information flowing between containerized integration components.

MitigationEnable and enforce TLS/SSL encryption for all network communications within the IBM App Connect deployment. Configure secure transport protocols and verify all data paths use encrypted channels.

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
App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers OperandsApplication
Affected:= 12.0.11.2= 12.0.11.3= 12.0.12= 12.0.12.0= 12.0.12.2= 12.0.12.3= 12.0.12.4= 12.0.12.5= 13.0.1.0= 13.0.1.1= 13.0.2.0= 13.0.2.1
App Connect OperatorApplication
Affected:>= 11.3.0, <= 11.6.0>= 12.0.0, <= 12.0.20>= 12.1.0, <= 12.20.1

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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. Identify IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers version
    Check the container image version using 'kubectl get pod -o jsonpath={.spec.containers[].image}' or via the IntegrationServer CR status at .status.version, or inspect the container image labels
    Affected if Version equals any of: 12.0.11.2, 12.0.11.3, 12.0.12, 12.0.12.0, 12.0.12.2, 12.0.12.3, 12.0.12.4, 12.0.12.5, 13.0.1.0, 13.0.1.1, 13.0.2.0, 13.0.2.1
  2. Identify IBM App Connect Operator version
    Run 'kubectl get csv -n <namespace>' to get the installed operator version, or check via Operator Lifecycle Manager
    Affected if Version is between 11.3.0 and 11.6.0 inclusive, between 12.0.0 and 12.0.20 inclusive, or between 12.1.0 and 12.20.1 inclusive
  3. Verify TLS/SSL is enabled for the IntegrationServer
    Inspect the IntegrationServer custom resource for 'spec.tls' or 'spec.secureConnectionsEnabled' fields, or check the Dashboard under Runtime -> Settings for 'Enable TLS' configuration
    Affected if TLS/SSL is not explicitly configured or 'secureConnectionsEnabled' is set to false or not present
  4. Check server configuration for encryption settings
    Access the container and examine server.conf.xml in /home/aceuser/ace-server or check the IntegrationServer CR for policySecureConnections setting
    Affected if No SSL or TLS profile is defined in the configuration, or 'policySecureConnections' is disabled

You are affected if you run any affected version of IBM App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers or Operator AND TLS/SSL encryption is not explicitly enabled for your IntegrationServer network communications.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 12.20.1
Interim mitigation

Enable and enforce TLS/SSL encryption for all network communications within the IBM App Connect deployment. Configure secure transport protocols and verify all data paths use encrypted channels.

Fix this in App Connect Enterprise Certified Containers Operands Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
52.0 hours of engineering $9,160
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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-2025-13490 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