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Mq OperatorApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-33013

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-07-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 MQ Operator LTS 2.0.0 through 2.0.29, MQ Operator CD 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.1.0 through 3.1.3, 3.3.0, 3.4.0, 3.4.1, 3.5.0, 3.5.1, 3.6.0, and MQ Operator SC2 3.2.0 through 3.2.13 Container could disclose sensitive information to a local user due to improper clearing of heap memory before release.

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 · moderate confidence

The IBM MQ Operator container has a heap memory disclosure vulnerability where sensitive information is not properly cleared before memory is released. A local user with access to the container could potentially read residual sensitive data (such as credentials or secrets) from heap memory after use.

MitigationUpdate IBM MQ Operator to the patched version (contact IBM for specific fix version). In the interim, restrict local user access to container environments and ensure proper container isolation and access controls.

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
Mq OperatorApplication
Affected:>= 2.0.0, <= 2.0.29>= 3.2.0, <= 3.2.13>= 3.5.1, <= 3.6.0= 3.3.0= 3.4.0= 3.4.1= 3.5.0
Supplied Mq Advanced Container ImagesApplication
Affected:= 9.3.0.0= 9.3.0.1= 9.3.0.3= 9.3.0.4= 9.3.0.5= 9.3.0.6= 9.3.0.10= 9.3.0.11= 9.3.0.15= 9.3.0.16= 9.3.0.17= 9.3.0.20

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 if IBM MQ Operator is installed
    Run: kubectl get pods -A | grep -i mq or kubectl get crd | grep queuemanager
    Affected if Any IBM MQ Operator pods or custom resources are present in the cluster
  2. Check the installed IBM MQ Operator version
    Run: kubectl get clusterqueue -o yaml 2>/dev/null | grep -i image or kubectl describe pod -n <namespace> <mq-pod> | grep -i image. Alternatively, check operator deployment: kubectl get deployment -A | grep ibm-mq
    Affected if The operator version falls within 2.0.0-2.0.29, 3.2.0-3.2.13, 3.3.0, 3.4.0-3.4.1, or 3.5.0-3.6.0
  3. Identify MQ Advanced Container Images in use
    Run: kubectl get qmgr -A -o jsonpath='{.items[*].spec.image}' or kubectl get deployment -A -o jsonpath='{range .items[*]}{.metadata.name}{.spec.template.spec.containers[*].image}{end}' | grep -i mq
    Affected if MQ container images are being used in the environment
  4. Check MQ container image versions
    For each identified image, run: docker images | grep <image-id> or podman images | grep <image-id> to get the full image tag version
    Affected if The image version matches any of: 9.3.0.0, 9.3.0.1, 9.3.0.3, 9.3.0.4, 9.3.0.5, 9.3.0.6, 9.3.0.10, 9.3.0.11, 9.3.0.15, 9.3.0.16, 9.3.0.17, or 9.3.0.20
  5. Verify local user access to containers
    Audit container access controls: check RBAC policies for exec into pods (kubectl auth can-i exec pod) and container runtime access
    Affected if Local users have shell or exec access to MQ containers where sensitive data (credentials, secrets) was processed

The environment is affected if IBM MQ Operator version is within the listed ranges OR MQ Advanced Container Images version matches any of the affected 9.3.0.x versions, AND local users can access container shells or memory after sensitive data was processed.

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 3.6.0
Interim mitigation

Update IBM MQ Operator to the patched version (contact IBM for specific fix version). In the interim, restrict local user access to container environments and ensure proper container isolation and access controls.

Fix this in Mq Operator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $11,200.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2025-33013 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