dbcve.org
Watsonx.dataApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-36140

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 watsonx.data 2.2 through 2.2.1 could allow an authenticated user to cause a denial of service through ingestion pods due to improper allocation of resources without limits.

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 watsonx.data versions 2.2 through 2.2.1 contain a denial of service vulnerability in ingestion pods where improper allocation of resources without limits allows an authenticated user to exhaust available resources, causing service disruption.

MitigationApply the IBM watsonx.data patch (2.2.1 or later) and configure explicit CPU/memory resource limits on ingestion pods to prevent unbounded resource consumption.

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
Watsonx.dataApplication
Affected:>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.2

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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. Identify installed watsonx.data version
    Run 'ibm watsonx.data version' or check the IBM Cloud Pak for Data operator version in OpenShift/Kubernetes. Also check the watsonx.data prereq checker or the operand deployment version.
    Affected if Version is 2.2.0, 2.2.1, or any version >= 2.2.0 and < 2.2.2
  2. Locate ingestion pods in the environment
    Run 'kubectl get pods -n <watsonx-data-namespace> | grep -i ingest' or 'oc get pods -n <namespace> | grep -i ingest' to find ingestion pods such as alluxio-ingestion, hive-ingestion, or presto-ingestion pods.
    Affected if Ingestion pods exist in the namespace and the watsonx.data version is vulnerable
  3. Check CPU resource limits on ingestion pods
    Run 'kubectl get pods -n <namespace> -o jsonpath="{.items[*].spec.containers[*].resources.limits.cpu}"' for each ingestion pod, or inspect each pod's resource configuration with 'kubectl describe pod <ingestion-pod-name> -n <namespace>' and look for the Limits.CPU field.
    Affected if CPU limits are not set (empty or missing) on ingestion pods
  4. Check memory resource limits on ingestion pods
    Run 'kubectl get pods -n <namespace> -o jsonpath="{.items[*].spec.containers[*].resources.limits.memory}"' for each ingestion pod, or inspect each pod with 'kubectl describe pod <ingestion-pod-name> -n <namespace>' and look for the Limits.Memory field.
    Affected if Memory limits are not set (empty or missing) on ingestion pods

You are affected if watsonx.data version is >= 2.2.0 and < 2.2.2 AND ingestion pods exist without CPU or memory resource limits configured.

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 2.2.2 or later
Fixed in 2.2.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM watsonx.data patch (2.2.1 or later) and configure explicit CPU/memory resource limits on ingestion pods to prevent unbounded resource consumption.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

2.2.2

  1. Verify current IBM watsonx.data version by checking the IBM Cloud Pak for Data console or running: kubectl get operandrequest -n <namespace>
  2. Follow IBM's standard upgrade procedure for watsonx.data: Access the IBM Cloud Pak for Data administration console
  3. Navigate to the watsonx.data instance management section
  4. Select the upgrade option and target version 2.2.2
  5. Execute the upgrade following IBM's documented upgrade workflow for watsonx.data 2.2.x
  6. Verify successful upgrade by checking that the ingestion pods are running with proper resource limits and the version shows 2.2.2
Caveat Review IBM watsonx.data 2.2.2 release notes for any configuration or feature changes before upgrading

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

Fix this in Watsonx.data Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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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-2025-36140 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data