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Hard-coded CredentialsWeakness · CWE-798

CVE-2025-14115

HIGH · 8.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
89/100
Remediation priority · High
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 Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX Container 6.3.0.0 through 6.3.0.6 Interim Fix 016, and 6.4.0.0 through 6.4.0.3 Interim Fix 019 IBM® Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data.

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 Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX Container versions 6.3.0.0-6.3.0.6 IF016 and 6.4.0.0-6.4.0.3 IF019 contain hard-coded credentials (passwords or cryptographic keys) used for inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, and encryption of internal data. Attackers who obtain these credentials can authenticate to the system, communicate with external components, or decrypt sensitive data.

MitigationImmediately rotate any exposed hard-coded credentials and implement dynamic credential management. Apply vendor-supplied patches when available and audit all authentication and encryption configurations for additional hard-coded secrets.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify installed version
    Run 'dmversions' or check the container image metadata: 'docker images' or inspect the container for version files. For the running process, check the initialization logs or run: cat /opt/cdirect/version.dat 2>/dev/null
    Affected if Version is 6.3.0.0-6.3.0.6 (any IF level up to IF016) or 6.4.0.0-6.4.0.3 (any IF level up to IF019)
  2. Locate configuration directory
    Find the Sterling Connect:Direct configuration path, typically under /opt/cdirect/cfg or /app/cfg inside the container. Check environment variables CDDIR or NDMHOME if set
    Affected if Configuration directory exists and contains .cdi or .xml config files used by the application
  3. Inspect configuration files for embedded credentials
    Search all .cdi, .xml, .properties, and .ini files in the configuration directory for patterns like 'password=', 'cryptkey=', 'sharedsecret=', 'keyfile=', or hard-coded strings used for authentication. Use: grep -r 'password\|cryptkey\|sharedsecret' /opt/cdirect/cfg/ 2>/dev/null
    Affected if Files contain hard-coded password values, cryptographic keys, or secret strings used for inbound auth, outbound comms, or data encryption
  4. Check for secrets management integration
    Examine environment variables and configuration for external secrets managers (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, CyberArk, etc.) versus locally embedded credentials. Look for env vars like VAULT_ADDR, NDM_KEY_FILE, or references to external credential stores
    Affected if System is NOT configured to use external secrets management and relies solely on credentials defined within local configuration files
  5. Review user authentication configuration
    Inspect the user authentication configuration (userfile or equivalent) to determine if default or hard-coded system accounts are enabled for remote/inbound access
    Affected if Default or known hard-coded credentials exist for system accounts accessible via network

If the installed version falls within 6.3.0.0-6.3.0.6 (≤IF016) or 6.4.0.0-6.4.0.3 (≤IF019) AND configuration files contain hard-coded passwords, keys, or secrets without external secrets management, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2025-14115.

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

Immediately rotate any exposed hard-coded credentials and implement dynamic credential management. Apply vendor-supplied patches when available and audit all authentication and encryption configurations for additional hard-coded secrets.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
27.0 hours of engineering $4,800
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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-2025-14115 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