dbcve.org
Mq OperatorApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-36041

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 3.5.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 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 through 3.5.3, and MQ Operator SC2 3.2.0 through 3.2.12 Native HA CRR could be configured with a private key and chain other than the intended key which could disclose sensitive information or allow the attacker to perform unauthorized actions.

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 MQ Operator versions 2.0.0-2.0.29 (LTS), 3.0.0-3.5.3 (CD), and 3.2.0-3.2.12 (SC2) contain a vulnerability in the Native HA Custom Resource where a private key and certificate chain can be configured incorrectly, allowing attackers to access sensitive information or perform unauthorized actions by exploiting the misconfigured certificate bindings.

MitigationReview and regenerate the private keys and certificate chains for Native HA CRR configurations, ensuring only the intended certificates are bound to the appropriate resources; verify that TLS/SSL configurations in IBM MQ Operator deployments use correct certificate references.

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>= 2.2.0, <= 2.2.2>= 2.3.0, <= 2.3.3>= 2.4.0, <= 2.4.8>= 3.1.0, <= 3.1.3>= 3.2.0, <= 3.2.12>= 3.5.1, <= 3.5.3= 3.0.0= 3.0.1= 3.3.0= 3.4.0= 3.4.1
Supplied Mq Advanced Container ImagesApplication
Affected:= 9.2.0.1= 9.2.0.2= 9.2.0.4= 9.2.0.5= 9.2.0.6= 9.2.3.0= 9.2.4.0= 9.2.5.0= 9.3.0.0= 9.3.0.1= 9.3.0.3= 9.3.0.4

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 IBM MQ Operator version
    Run 'kubectl get deployment -n <namespace> ibm-mq-operator -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"' or check the operator CSV/manifest for the version label
    Affected if The operator version falls within any of these ranges: 2.0.0-2.0.29, 2.2.0-2.2.2, 2.3.0-2.3.3, 2.4.0-2.4.8, 3.1.0-3.1.3, 3.2.0-3.2.12, 3.5.1-3.5.3, or equals 3.0.0, 3.0.1, 3.3.0, 3.4.0, 3.4.1
  2. Check for Native HA Custom Resources
    Run 'kubectl get qmgr -A' or 'kubectl get nativeha -A' to list Native HA queue manager resources in all namespaces
    Affected if Any Native HA Custom Resource (QueueManager with Native HA enabled) exists in the cluster
  3. Inspect TLS/SSL certificate configuration in Native HA CR
    Examine the Native HA CR YAML spec for 'spec:' sections containing 'tls:' or 'security:' with 'cert:' and 'key:' references. Run 'kubectl get nativeha <name> -n <namespace> -o yaml' or 'kubectl get qmgr <name> -n <namespace> -o yaml' and review the certificate configuration
    Affected if The Native HA CR contains certificate references where the private key and certificate chain are bound to unintended or incorrect resources, or multiple certificates share the same private key
  4. Verify certificate binding specificity
    Review the ConfigMaps or Secrets referenced by the Native HA CR for TLS configuration. Check if multiple queue managers or resources reference the same certificate secret. Run 'kubectl describe nativeha <name> -n <namespace>' for event details
    Affected if The certificates referenced are shared across multiple resources, or the private key and certificate chain do not match the intended resource binding

You are affected if you are running a vulnerable IBM MQ Operator version AND have Native HA Custom Resources deployed with potentially misconfigured certificate bindings.

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 3.5.3
Interim mitigation

Review and regenerate the private keys and certificate chains for Native HA CRR configurations, ensuring only the intended certificates are bound to the appropriate resources; verify that TLS/SSL configurations in IBM MQ Operator deployments use correct certificate references.

Fix this in Mq Operator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-36041 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-36041 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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