CVE-2025-36244
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 · uneditedIBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, IBM VIOS 3.1, and 4.1, when configured to use Kerberos network authentication, could allow a local user to write to files on the system with root privileges due to improper initialization of critical variables.
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 confidenceIBM AIX 7.2, 7.3, and VIOS 3.1/4.1 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability when configured with Kerberos network authentication. The flaw stems from improper initialization of critical variables, allowing an authenticated local user to write files to arbitrary locations on the system with root-level privileges.
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= 3.1= 4.1= 7.2= 7.3CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify the installed AIX or VIOS versionRun 'oslevel -s' on AIX or 'ioslevel' on VIOS to determine the exact version numberAffected if The version is 7.2, 7.3, 3.1, or 4.1 without the security patch applied
-
Determine if Kerberos authentication is configuredCheck for the presence of Kerberos configuration files in /etc/krb5 or verify the krb5 subsystem is active using 'lssecattr' or 'lsauthent'Affected if Kerberos network authentication is enabled or configured on the system
-
Verify if the system is running the vulnerable Kerberos authentication componentsCheck the installed filesets related to Kerberos using 'lslpp -l | grep -i krb' to identify the Kerberos packages and their current version levelsAffected if Kerberos-related filesets are installed and the system version matches the affected range without the IBM fix
-
Confirm local user access existsReview /etc/passwd and check for non-root local user accounts that have interactive shell accessAffected if Local authenticated users exist on the system with the ability to execute commands
The system is affected if it runs AIX 7.2/7.3 or VIOS 3.1/4.1, has Kerberos network authentication enabled, and contains local user accounts - the vulnerability allows an authenticated local user to achieve root-level file write access due to improper variable initialization in the Kerberos authentication path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply the appropriate IBM AIX/VIOS security patch for this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling Kerberos authentication or restricting local user access until the patch can be deployed.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-36244 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-36244 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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