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Websphere Application ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-36047

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.0.0.9 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 WebSphere Application Server Liberty 18.0.0.2 through 25.0.0.8 is vulnerable to a denial of service, caused by sending a specially-crafted request. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause the server to consume memory resources.

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

IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty versions 18.0.0.2 through 25.0.0.8 is vulnerable to a memory-based denial of service attack. A remote unauthenticated attacker can send a specially-crafted HTTP request that causes excessive memory consumption, potentially leading to server exhaustion and service unavailability.

MitigationApply the IBM security patch or upgrade to a fixed version of WebSphere Application Server Liberty beyond 25.0.0.8. Consider implementing request rate limiting or Web Application Firewall rules as a temporary mitigation while patching.

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
Websphere Application ServerApplication
Affected:>= 18.0.0.2, < 25.0.0.9

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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. Check WebSphere Liberty version
    Run 'java -jar <liberty_install_dir>/bin/wlp-server.jar -version' or check the 'productInfo version' in the server output. Alternatively, inspect the 'product.version' property in the 'server.xml' configuration file under <liberty_install_dir>/usr/servers/<server_name>/
    Affected if The installed version is 18.0.0.2 through 25.0.0.8 (versions prior to 25.0.0.9)
  2. Verify HTTP endpoint is exposed
    Check the server.xml configuration file for an <httpEndpoint> element with 'id="defaultHttpEndpoint"' or similar. Also verify the webApplication is mapped to a virtual host with accessible HTTP ports.
    Affected if HTTP endpoint is enabled and accessible on the network (the vulnerability is exploited via specially-crafted HTTP requests)
  3. Confirm Liberty profile is in use
    Verify that the installation is using the Liberty profile (not traditional WebSphere). Check for the 'wlp' directory structure and 'usr/servers' folder pattern typical of Liberty installations.
    Affected if The server is running the Liberty profile of WebSphere Application Server (this CVE specifically affects Liberty)
  4. Check for external network exposure
    Review network configuration to determine if HTTP ports (typically 9080, 9443) are exposed to untrusted networks or the internet. Use 'netstat -an | grep -E "(9080|9443)"' or review firewall/load balancer rules.
    Affected if HTTP endpoints are reachable from untrusted networks without rate limiting or WAF protection

You are affected if WebSphere Application Server Liberty is running version 18.0.0.2 through 25.0.0.8 and has accessible HTTP endpoints.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 25.0.0.9 or later
Fixed in 25.0.0.9
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM security patch or upgrade to a fixed version of WebSphere Application Server Liberty beyond 25.0.0.8. Consider implementing request rate limiting or Web Application Firewall rules as a temporary mitigation while patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

25.0.0.9 or later

  1. Download IBM WebSphere Application Server Liberty version 25.0.0.9 or later from IBM's official website
  2. Review IBM's migration and upgrade documentation for WebSphere Liberty
  3. Back up your current WebSphere Liberty installation and configuration
  4. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment to verify compatibility
  5. Apply the upgrade to production following IBM's standard upgrade procedures
  6. Verify the server starts successfully and monitor for any issues
Caveat Review IBM's migration guide for any compatibility notes between your current version and 25.0.0.9

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Websphere Application Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-36047 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