CVE-2025-36367
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 i 7.6, 7.5, 7.4, 7.3, and 7.2 is vulnerable to privilege escalation caused by an invalid IBM i SQL services authorization check. A malicious actor can use the elevated privileges of another user profile to gain root access to the host operating system.
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 confidenceIBM i SQL services contains an invalid authorization check that allows a malicious actor to bypass proper permission validation. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can impersonate another user profile with elevated privileges and ultimately gain root access to the host operating system.
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= 7.2= 7.3= 7.4= 7.5= 7.6CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the IBM i versionUse the command 'DSPSYSVAL QSWGDRVN' or check 'WRKCFGSTS *SYS' to determine the installed IBM i release. Alternatively, use 'DSPPTF' to see current PTF levels.Affected if The version is 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, or 7.6 (any of the listed affected versions).
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Determine if SQL services are in useReview job logs for QSQSRVR jobs or check for scheduled SQL-based tasks. Use 'WRKACTJOB' and filter for QSQSRVR subsystem activity.Affected if SQL services (QSQSRVR jobs) are actively running on the system, indicating DB2 for i SQL services are enabled.
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Review SQL service authorization audit logsUse IBM i audit journal (QAUDJRN) to search for entries with program QSQSPIRA or SQL service calls. Use 'DSPJRN' with appropriate journal entries for authorization failures.Affected if Audit logs show unexpected SQL service calls or authorization bypass events for user profiles with elevated privileges.
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Check for unauthorized privilege escalationReview user profile changes via 'DSPUSRPRF' or check job logs for unexpected user profile impersonation attempts. Look for ALTER USER or similar SQL statements in job logs.Affected if User profiles with higher privileges were accessed through SQL services by lower-privileged users, or unexpected profile switches occurred.
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Inspect SQL service permission configurationUse 'GRTOBJAUT' output or check object permissions on QSYS2/QSYS schema objects related to SQL services. Review which user profiles have *USE or *EXECUTE authority to SQL service procedures.Affected if User profiles that should not have SQL service access possess execute permissions on QSYS2 SQL service objects.
The environment is affected if running IBM i version 7.2 through 7.6 and SQL services are actively being used, with potential indicators visible in audit logs showing authorization bypass attempts.
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 IBM i PTFs (Program Temporary Fixes) or service packs that address the SQL services authorization vulnerability. Review user profile privileges and restrict SQL service permissions to minimize attack surface.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-36367 — 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-2025-36367 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
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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